Luigi's Adventure at the Sea 3: Retold
by N64 Chick
Summary: Luigi travels across the world in search of his captured yoshi friends in this retelling of the final entry in the LAS trilogy.
1. The Eggsellent Adventure Begins

Prologue

This tale begins one day on an island inhabited by dinosaurs called yoshis. Many yoshi herds lived on the island in peace and harmony. Some herds lived in the forest. Others preferred the mountains. A few even took up residence near the beach. This story is about one of these coastal herds.

One spring day, an odd creature wearing a cloak visited this herd. Yoshis are a friendly and carefree species and they welcomed it with open arms. After all, they had done the same to a human that landed on the island in the past and it was now their leader and best friend.

However, the creature betrayed the yoshi herd. Using a magic spell, it turned the yoshis into eggs and scattered them across the world of Plit. Only a few yoshis survived the sudden attack. One of them immediately ran to the home of their leader to tell him about the terrible disaster.

Meanwhile, the leader of the yoshi herd and hero of this story was doing some cleaning at his house, completely unaware that he would soon embark on a grand adventure.

Chapter I: The Eggsellent Adventure Begins

It was a beautiful day in Toad Town. It was the beginning of spring and the residents decided to do a little cleaning around their houses. At the home of the Super Mario Bros., Mario was bringing out his collection of garden gnomes while Luigi washed the windows.

"Nice day out, isn't it?" Mario sighed contently.

"Sure is," Luigi replied. "Perfect time to clean up this place."

"Where do you think I should put this?" Mario asked as he picked up a Goomba gnome. It wore a red elf hat and had a silly grin on its face. "Near the bush maybe?"

"Better not. The warp pipe to Yoshi's Island is in there, remember?"

"Oh sure."

"Hmm. I wonder how the yoshis are doing," Luigi said thoughtfully. "The snow sorta kept them away."

"Why not visit them right now? I can take care of everything here."

"Well. Alright."

Before Luigi had the chance to climb into the warp pipe, one of his yoshi friends popped out of it. It was none other than Purpley, who was known to have a bit of a crush on Luigi. Normally she would be all over him, but she was in a state of panic this time.

"Luigi! The herd!" she began.

"The herd? What's wrong with it?" asked Luigi.

Purpley sobbed and tugged on Luigi's arm. "Something's wrong! Th-they're all gone!"

"I'd better go check this out. You stay here and take care of the cleaning."

"Sure thing," Mario chuckled as he placed a Shy Guy gnome near the mailbox.

Luigi and Purpley went into the warp pipe and were immediately transported to Purpley's home on Yoshi's Island. Luigi didn't understand what was wrong though. Everything seemed normal here.

"So what's the matter, Purpley? Were you playing Hide-and-Seek?"

"No..." Purpley continued to cry. "We were all on the beach and suddenly..." she trailed off.

Luigi honestly had no idea what was going on. He pet Purpley a few times in an attempt to calm her down, then both of them walked to the beach to try to figure out what the problem was.

"It happened right here," Purpley said, not crying so hard now. "Everyone was turned into eggs and...then..."

While Purpley was talking, Luigi noticed some movement near a clump of rocks. He went over to investigate and found Pinky trembling with fear.

"Pinky? What happened here?"

"Oh! Luigi!" Pinky shouted, feeling a little relieved. "I'm so glad you're here! Something terrible has happened!"

"So I've heard. But what exactly?"

"It happened so fast. Most of the herd was turned into eggs and then they went away.

Purpley pointed toward the ocean. "I saw some go that way."

"Huhhh...?" Luigi groaned and thought for a moment. "So are you two the only ones here? Or are there others?"

"You know, I think I saw the kids run for Blacky's cave," Pinky said hopefully.

The three decided that it would be best to head over there. When they arrived, Luigi went inside. He quickly found Yosheta hiding in a corner and crying. Oshi was there as well and he didn't look particularly happy about having visitors.

"Who do you think you are?!" the orange yoshi shouted angrily. "Don't try turning me into an egg! I'm gonna beat you up like-"

"Whoa there, Oshi! It's just me, Luigi!"

"Oh. Sorry, Luigi," Oshi apologized. "I was just protecting Yosheta. I thought you were that fat thing that turned us into eggs."

"I see," Luigi said as he rubbed his chin. "I'd better look into this. For the time being, I suppose I'll get you guys to safety at my house. Then we can talk."

The yoshis happily agreed and followed Luigi back to the warp pipe.

Meanwhile, Mario was finished setting up his lawn gnomes and was now fixing a broken step on the porch when Luigi arrived with four yoshis in tow.

"So what's up?" Mario asked Luigi.

"I'm not quite sure yet," the yoshi leader said with a frown. "Something about the herd being turned into eggs...or something. I'm gonna try to calm these guys down and see if they can tell me any more."

After enjoying a quick lunch, Luigi sat the yoshis down in his bedroom and tried to get them to explain what happened.

"Well, this one frog thing came to us one day," Pinky began.

"Actually, I thought he looked more like a-" Purpley objected.

"No, it was definitely a frog," Oshi interrupted.

"Whatever it was, it sure was fat," Yosheta added.

"A fat frog thing, huh?" said Luigi. "You getting this, Mario?"

Mario was sitting at the desk and jotting down notes. "Got it. What color was it?"

"Green!" all the yoshis shouted.

"Anything else about this guy that we should know?" Luigi asked. "Did he wear anything or have markings of any kind?"

Unfortunately, the yoshis all talked at once and each said something different. One mentioned that the culprit wore something around his neck. Another said that it had something pointy on his head. Yet another claimed that it wore something on his back. One also pointed out that it had a white belly. Mario struggled to write all of this down. It was difficult to understand what all four yoshis were trying to say.

Luigi continued with the questions. "Okay. Now about what happened to everyone. You say they were turned into eggs?"

"Yes," Purpley said sadly. "Then they kinda got sent all over the place."

"I have no idea where they went," Oshi shrugged.

Luigi closed his eyes and folded his arms. "I see," he mused. "I suppose that the obvious thing to do is go look for them."

"Probably," said Mario. "But I suggest that you get started in the morning."

"Yeah. I guess you're right."

That night, while Luigi and the yoshis slept, Mario was doing a little work at the desk. Combining what the yoshis said with a few ideas of his own, he drew a collection of police sketches. He would show them to the yoshis in the morning and see if any of them were resembled the enemy.

The next day, Luigi was the first to get out of bed. He worried about the herd throughout the entire night and got little sleep as a result. He went into the kitchen to enjoy a cup of coffee and waited for everyone else to wake up.

"Mornin', bro," Mario said as he entered the kitchen. "You're up early."

Luigi yawned. "Rough night."

"Oh. That's too bad. Maybe you'll feel better after having some pancakes."

Mario set a pile of papers down on the kitchen table. They were the police sketches that he did last night. Then he began to make breakfast. But Luigi wasn't very interested in pictures or pancakes. The only thing on his mind was getting his yoshi friends back.

"What to do..." Luigi said gloomily.

"Hey, you guys," Mario said when the yoshis came into the kitchen. "I need you to look at the pictures sitting on the table. Tell me if any of them look like the guy that started this mess."

The yoshis looked at the drawings carefully. Most of them looked like frogs. A few looked like fat yoshis. Two even looked like large Koopa Troopas.

"This one!" Purpley shouted and picked up one that was near the bottom of the stack. "This looks almost exactly like him!"

Mario, Luigi, and the other yoshis crowded around to have a look. This drawing depicted a pudgy frog that wore a crown, a necklace, and a robe. It also had a white belly. Also, unlike most of the pictures, the subject in this one did not wear shoes.

"It does look like him," said Pinky. "His nose is a little bigger. That's all."

"He looks familiar," Luigi added. "Is that based on anyone, Mario?"

"I think..." Mario thought for a moment. "It was one of Bowser's underlings. Or the thing that kidnapped Daisy once."

Mario took the drawing, folded it, and tucked away in his overalls pocket. Then he and the others ate the pancakes.

"So how do we get everyone back?" Oshi asked.

"I'm not really sure," said Luigi. "My guess is to round up all the eggs. But I have no idea where to start looking."

"True," Mario agreed. "They might not even be on Yoshi's Island. If that's the case, we have a lot of ground to cover."

"Dang. How are we gonna do this?"

Perhaps it is merely a coincidence, but the telephone started to ring.

"Argh. I'll get this," Luigi muttered, picking up the phone. "Hello?"

"Durrr... You're a stupidhead," Waluigi's voice crackled over the line. "Don't take my work 'cause I know where you live and I'll eat your babies..."

"Hello, Waluigi," Luigi said while trying to stifle a laugh.

"Gah! Who'd you call now?!" Wario's voice boomed. "Is that you, Mario?"

"Luigi, actually."

"Don't mind my stupid brother. He got into my Chuckola Cola again."

Luigi grinned and shook his head as he heard a thump on Wario's end.

"You idiot!" Wario continued. "I thought I told you to stay out of there! Now go warm up the Wario Car! I want to use my new ship and get out of this dump already! Dang it. I missed the receiver..." The phone on Wario's end clicked, ending the call.

"Who was that?" Mario asked.

"Oh, just Waluigi being dumb again. Wario mentioned that he got a new ship though."

Something about that sentence got Mario's attention. "Hmm... Is that so? Call him back and give it to me. I have an idea."

Luigi shrugged and picked up the phone again. He dialed Wario's number, then handed it to Mario.

"It's a bit of a stretch," Mario commented as the phone rang on Wario's end. "But I might be able to pull this off."

"Yo," Wario answered.

"Hey, Wario. I heard you got yourself a new ship."

"Yeah? What's it to you?"

"Planned on going somewhere?"

"Who cares?!" Wario snapped. "Lemme guess. You wanna come along for the ride, huh? What makes you think you can just invite yourself to my-"

"Shut up and listen for a sec, will you? Luigi's yoshi herd got attacked by something yesterday and we need to-"

"Hold the boat! You want my ship for a rescue mission, eh?"

"Well, since you put it that way... Yes. I sorta need it for me, Luigi and four yoshis."

"Ho ho! Four yoshis? This is gonna cost you, buddy."

"I don't care. What do you want?"

"In a case like this, you have to say..." Wario paused for a moment. "It."

"You must be joking! No!"

"I demand you say it!"

"Absolutely not!"

"If you don't, your brother and his little dinosaur friends are going to stay right where they are."

"Okay. Fine," Mario sighed, feeling defeated. "Warios rule and Marios drool."

"I can't heeeeear you." Wario teased.

"Warios rule and Marios drool! Is that good enough for you?!"

Wario laughed heartily. "I knew you'd cooperate. Yeah. Waluigi and I will be there in awhile to grab you guys. Smell ya later!"

Mario hung up the phone. "Well, I got us a ride, but it cost me some of my dignity."

"Had you say that stupid line again, didn't he?"

"Yeah. Well, I suppose we'd better pack some supplies in the meantime."

The brothers go into the bedroom and make their preparations. Luigi packed mushrooms, syrups, a flashlight and some money. Mario packed a change of clothing for himself and Luigi, a CD player and some CDs, a pair of binoculars and his police sketches.

"Bringing a good weapon in case anything happens?" Mario asked Luigi.

Luigi nodded and held up the hammer he got in the Beanbean Kingdom.

"Good call."

"I'm bringing this too," Luigi said, holding up a universal phone. "E. Gadd finished making it the other day and wanted me to test it."

"Ah. Communication. Great idea!" Mario exclaimed as he looked for his Mailbox SP.

Shortly after the brothers had made their preparations, a car horn was heard outside. It was Wario.

"Looks like it's time to go," Luigi said sternly.


	2. Wario's New Ride

Chapter II: Wario's New Ride

Luigi and Mario went outside and saw that Wario and Waluigi had arrived in their karts, the Wario Car and the Waluigi Racer. Wario had his feet up on the hood of his kart in a relaxed position while Waluigi was leaning against his steering wheel.

"So what's up, bub?" Wario asked.

"I still don't quite know the specifics, but..." Luigi began.

"Something attacked us yesterday," Purpley said as she stepped outside. They turned most of us into eggs and sent them away. We've gotta go find them."

"So. Going on an egg hunt, eh?"

"I guess that's one way of putting it," Luigi answered.

"But no treasure, right?"

"No treasure."

"So you're just looking for eggs, but not treasure. Yes?"

"Yes!"

"Okay. You're not looking for treasure then. Because if you are and I find out that you're lying, I'll-"

"Clean out those ears!" Mario shouted, annoyed with the monotonous conversation. "The guy isn't looking for treasure!"

"Got it."

Waluigi leaned toward Wario. "Eh...the karts, Wario."

"Oh, right. You guys taking your karts?"

The Mario Bros. nod and go to the back yard to fetch their karts, the Red Fire and the Green Fire.

"You know, this just made me think of something," said Luigi.

Luigi noticed that there was now four karts, four humans driving them and four yoshis. It's not so bad...except that there's a little matter of sorting them.

"We may have to split up a few times while we're out there," Luigi continued. "So I'm assigning a yoshi to each of you. I'll take Purpley. Mario, you can have Pinky. I think she has a thing for you anyway."

"Now you wait a minute!" Waluigi snapped. "I was never told that I had to dinosit!"

"Yeah! Mario never told me that part!" Wario added. "Stupid fine print! Gets me every time!"

"Well, this sorta came up just now..."

"If you're making us do this, you gotta give us something." Wario insisted, holding out his hand.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not a charity operation, you know! You've gotta pay me! Don't say you're broke either because I know you have money!"

Luigi sighed with frustration. "Let me explain this one last time. E. Gadd used all the money I found in the haunted mansion to buy a new one. And that one became haunted anyway."

"What about those one books?"

"Super Luigi? Pfft. It bombed. Seriously. They didn't do well. I mean, they were only ten pages each and were really overpriced. Crappy writing job too."

"Forget about it then!"

Wario is known to be rude and greedy, but Luigi had to admit that he was right. He was letting him use his ship to look for the eggs and now he was asking him and Waluigi to watch after the yoshis, yet he didn't have anything to give him. Still, he had to come with something fast.

"It's a pretty big world out there," Luigi said slyly. "And we're probably gonna cover a lot of it. I imagine there's lots of treasure out there too. Are you catching my drift?"

"I'm catching it all right," Wario mused, now having a change of heart. "I suppose you've made your point. Okay then. But you better not gyp me."

"Grazie. Glad we came to an understanding. I'll assign you with Yosheta. She doesn't like being on her own, so you shouldn't have to worry about her wandering off."

"So that leaves Waluigi and Oshi, right?" asked Mario.

"Right. Hey! Pay attention, Waluigi!"

Waluigi had gotten bored of listening to Luigi and Wario go back and forth and decided to admire the paint job on the Waluigi Racer instead.

"Oh! Right!" Waluigi perked up. "My bad."

Now that everything has been sorted out, Luigi proceeded to tell the yoshis how to ride in the back of the karts. The yoshis caught on quickly and the ride to Toad Town Port went just fine. Aside from one little thing. Yosheta wasn't too fond of the high speed and screamed the entire time.

"How can a sickeningly cute thing be so noisy?!" Wario shouted when everyone reached their destination.

Mario laughed. "Well, I'm pretty sure this was her first time riding. Not to mention you drive like a maniac."

"Great. Now I'm deaf in my right ear..."

"Holy Moly," Luigi said in awe. "Is that behemoth yours?!"

Luigi, of course, was looking at Wario's new ship. This one was at least twice the size of the old one and was purple instead of yellow. There was also more cabins than before. It even had a swimming pool, something the old ship completely lacked.

"I bet you like that, don't you?" Wario boasted. "I call her the S.S. Garlic!"

"Hey! Whoa! What are you doing?!" Mario shouted as he watched Wario drive his kart right up the ramp and onto the ship.

"Oh yeah. This baby's got a garage in the back. It even holds two karts. You wanna bring that toy of yours, Luigi? I won't even charge you for it."

"Well, that's a nice bonus," Luigi said as he fiddled with his steering wheel. "Sure. I bet it will come in handy."

"Okay then. Why don't you guys check this thing out while I load up the karts?"

Mario, Luigi and even the yoshis were eager to see what the new ship had to offer. They got on board and looked around.

"Dibs on this room!" Mario called as he opened the first door he found.

"Mario, you fool! This is the kitchen!" Luigi pointed out.

Mario looked inside the door and realized his mistake. "Eheh. I knew that. Just making a joke."

Mario and the yoshis continued to check everything out. Luigi was feeling a little tired. He sat down in one of the chairs in the kitchen and closed his eyes. Waluigi came in a few minutes later and joined him.

"Well? Aren't you going to say something?" Waluigi asked as he sat down in a chair next to Luigi.

Luigi opened his eyes. "Excuse me?"

"Go ahead. I can take it."

"Do what? Say the stupid line?"

"You seriously don't know what I'm talking about?"

Luigi looked at Waluigi for a moment. "Nope."

"Boy, are you slow today. You're not gonna make fun of my appearance or call me names are something? Like you usually do on these trips?"

"Nah."

"At least say I'm stupid for the crank call!"

"It was a silly call, I admit. But truth be told, I should probably thank you for the call actually."

Waluigi was confused by Luigi's behavior and took off screaming.

Luigi smiled, then pulled his cap over his eyes and tried to catch a few winks when he was interrupted again. This time it was Mario and Wario.

"Okay. Fine. We'll ask the guy himself," Wario said to Mario.

Mario handed Luigi a rolled-up map. "We need to know what the first destination is."

Luigi took the map without saying anything and looked at it. He really wanted to get some rest so he decided to pick out a location that was some distance away. He was hoping that this would give him some time to take a nap.

"Sarasaland," Luigi said quickly. "We're going to Sarasaland."

Wario took the map back. He wasn't sure why Luigi picked Sarasaland when there was a few places, such as Isle Delfino, that were closer. He just shrugged and went to the helm.

"Stopping by Daisy's, are you?" Mario smirked.

"Meh. I just figured that the eggs can't possibly go that far."

"Why not give her a call? Maybe she's seen something."

Luigi thought for a moment. "That might not be a bad idea."

The hero pulled his universal phone out of his back pack and dialed Daisy's number. The phone on her end rang twice before she picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Daisy. This is Luigi."

"Hi there, sweetie! What's up?"

"I'm on a bit of a cruise," Luigi said as he looked outside. "I'm on my way to Sarasaland right now actually."

"Huh. We weren't supposed to go golfing at Blooper Bay for another two weeks. Any reason you're coming here early?"

"This is gonna sound dumb, but have you seen any yoshi eggs in your kingdom lately?"

"I don't think so. Yoshis don't live here, you know."

"Oh..." Luigi said sadly.

"But hey. I'll go ask the citizens. Something like that could turn up."

"Could you?"

"Sure thing, Weegie-kins!"

Luigi thanked his friend for the help and hung up the phone.

"Any luck?" Mario asked.

"Daisy said she hasn't seen anything, but she'll ask around."

"That phone is pretty handy. I bet it will help you out a lot."

"Yes. I'm sure," Luigi yawned. "Look, I really want to lay down for a bit."

"I don't blame you. Go find yourself a nice room and crash for awhile."

Luigi got up and left the kitchen. He went inside the first empty room he found, flopped onto the bed inside and quickly dozed off.


	3. The Tricky Temple

Chapter III: The Tricky Temple

"Luigi..." said a soft voice. "Hey, Luigi..."

"Urgh?" Luigi grunted and opened his eyes.

Purpley was standing by his bed and was gently shaking him. "C'mon, Luigi. It's time to go."

"Just a few more minutes..."

"But we're at that Sara place now. Everyone else already got off."

"That's Sarasaland. Oh! Right!"

Luigi rolled off the bed and landed on all fours, then he and Purpley left the ship and walked toward Daisy's castle. Although Luigi and Daisy were great friends, he didn't visit her land very often. Sarasaland was a relatively small desert kingdom and was rather underdeveloped compared to the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Daisy deserves better than this," Luigi thought as he gazed around.

When Luigi and Purpley arrived at the castle, they saw that Daisy was waiting outside for them.

"Hey, sweetie," the princess said. "I made some lunch for you."

"Ooh. What have you got?"

"Sarasa Spaghetti."

"I hope you made lots of it!" Luigi laughed.

Daisy lead Luigi and Purpley to the dining room where the rest of their companions were already enjoying lunch.

"What took you so long to get here?" Mario asked.

"It took me awhile to wake him up," Purpley answered.

"So have you figured out anything?" Luigi asked Daisy.

"You eat first, hon," Daisy said as she handed Luigi a plate of spaghetti. "We'll talk later. I need to go grab something."

"But...uh..."

"Better do as she says," said Pinky. "You need to keep your strength up. We're gonna head out in a bit."

"Oh? You know what's up?"

"Sure. She already told us. She asked around and found someone that might be able to help us."

Daisy returned a few minutes later. She spoke to Luigi and Purpley after they had eaten their fill.

"Here," she said as she unrolled a map of Sarasaland in front of Luigi. "I got a hold of someone by the name of Abu and he said that something's happened last night. He lives in Birabuto. You should head over there and see what's up."

Luigi carefully looked at the map. The kingdom of Sarasaland was split into four regions; Birabuto, Muda, Easton, and Chai. Birabuto is the region to the west.

"I would've checked it out myself if the Bloom Coach didn't break down the other day..." Daisy continued.

"Is that so?" Wario piped up. "You need a mechanic? 'Cause I can fix it. Mario's always telling me to be more 'constructive' anyway."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But first, I demand more garlic bread!"

"I think you've already had your fair share of garlic, tubby," Waluigi sneered.

"So can I stay here and fix it, Luigi?"

"If Daisy really wants you to, I suppose it's okay," Luigi replied. "But Yosheta has to stay here too."

Daisy pet Yosheta. "Even if Wario does mind, I sure don't. You can stay here for as long as you like, cutie."

Hey...um..." Oshi stammered. "If Yosheta is staying here, can I stay too?"

Oshi and Yosheta were best buds and usually prefer to be with each other. Luigi was aware of this fact and allowed him to stay as well.

"Let's get this show on the road," Mario exclaimed as he took the map of Sarasaland and headed out the door.

Luigi chased after him. "You're not taking off without me!"

And so, Luigi set out to Birabuto along with four of his companions; Mario, Waluigi, Purpley and Pinky. However, it would seem that a few of them aren't used to traveling in such a warm climate.

"It's hot here..." Pinky panted.

"No kidding," Waluigi agreed. "I don't see how a map is gonna help much either. I mean, there's hardly any landmarks. Just rocks, palm trees and cacti."

"You guys remind me of someone," said Mario.

"Really? Who?" asked Purpley.

"His name is Goombario. He's a Goomba that helped me find a Star Spirit in Dry Dry Desert once." Mario started to imitate his friend. "It's too hot here, Mario! I see nothing but rocks, Mario! I think I'm seeing things, Mario! Look out for the whirlwind, Mario!"

"Cut that out!" Luigi shouted angrily. "We've got to find Abu!"

"I'm getting tired though," said Purpley. "Can we rest by those trees over there for a little bit?"

"Well, okay. But only a quick rest."

The party went toward a group of palm trees where they found a nomadimouse that was already enjoying the shade.

"Greetings, fellow travelers," it spoke when Luigi and friends approached. "Where might you be headed on this fine day?"

"I'm looking for someone named Abu," Luigi answered. "He lives somewhere in Birabuto."

"I see. My name is Abu. You must be Luigi."

"Uh...yeah..."

"Pleased to meet you, Luigi. The princess must have told you to seek me out, yes?"

"She did. She told me that you might know something that could help me out. But what are you doing way out here?"

"I was merely on my way to the castle so I can escort you myself. But it would appear that our paths were destined to cross here instead."

"Hmm. I guess. Anyway, I'm looking for a yoshi egg. You think you know where one is?"

"I have not seen one myself. But I believe I know where one may be. Please follow me."

Luigi and his friends followed Abu as he made his way through the Birabuto region. The mouse moved quite quickly, as if the heat didn't bother him at all. Eventually he stopped right in front of a temple.

"This temple," Abu explained. "This temple was not here yesterday. I am unsure if a sandstorm uncovered it or if it perhaps came from...somewhere else. I have reason to believe that the egg that you seek is inside."

"Interesting," Luigi stated. Well, thanks for the help, Abu."

"I must return to my home now. I wish you luck on your quest."

After saying good-bye to Abu, Luigi and company enter the temple. They found themselves in a room with several doors. Each door had a jewel on its handle and each was a different shape and color. There is also a couple of corridors that lead to similar rooms.

"Oh man. Is this gonna be a maze?" Waluigi moaned.

"Temples usually are, newb," Mario scoffed.

Waluigi opened the first door that he reached. It had a black pentagon-shaped jewel on it. "Well, let's get cracking then..."

"What are you doing?!" Mario shouted when he saw a strange green gas start to billow out of the door.

"Nuts!"

Luigi slammed the door shut before any harm was done. "Do NOT do that again!" he warned.

"Maybe we should go in there," Purpley suggested and pointed to one of the corridors.

Everyone decided that it would probably be safer and go into the corridor. Then they go into another corridor. And another...then another... After going through about seven of them, they run into a dead end.

"Oh, great. It's a dead end," Waluigi griped.

"Hold on," said Mario. "There's a plaque here with something written on it."

"What does it say, Mario?" Luigi asked.

"Hmm... 'Stones as different as night and day. Their lights will help show a way. If the holders happen to go astray.' Wonder what that means."

"Pffft. It's just pointless poetry. Let's get out of here," Waluigi said before going back the way they came.

The group returned to the previous room and continued to try to figure the place out. After going in circles several times, Waluigi tried to leave the others.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Luigi yelled after him.

"You guys can keep wandering around!" Waluigi shot back. "I'm going my own way!"

"Just ignore him," Purpley said as she tried to keep Luigi from running after Waluigi.

During the little commotion, Mario and Pinky also decided to do a bit of solo work and went down one of the corridors without anyone noticing.

"I'm going in here and that's final!" Waluigi said as he went into a door with a red triangle-shaped jewel on it. After the thin fellow did so, the door closed behind him and a scream was heard.

"Oh, boy. What now?" Luigi shrugged.

Although Waluigi is a bit of a jerk, Luigi felt that it was his duty to do something. Luigi rushed into the door and the next thing he knew, he and Waluigi were hanging onto a rope just a few inches above sharp, metal spikes.

"Waluigi, if we get outta here alive, you are SO dead!"

Meanwhile, Mario and Pinky had run into another dead end. This one had what appeared to be hieroglyphs on the wall. Mario took a moment to study them.

"What's up?" Pinky asked.

"Something's written here," Mario said as he ran his fingers over the cryptic pictures. "But I've never seen hieroglyphs quite like these ones though. I can't decipher them at all..."

One of the hieroglyphs had a faint box around it. Mario, frustrated with the puzzle, punched it in a fit of anger. This revealed a hidden compartment. Mario reached into it and pulled out a ring. It had a red star-shaped jewel on it.

Pinky looked at the ring curiously. "Hey! You found something, Mario! But what is it?"

"Hmm..." Mario said in a disappointed tone and tucked the ring away in his overalls pocket. "I don't think it's anything I can use. Peach might like it as a birthday present though."

When Mario and Pinky returned to the room they were in before, they found Luigi, Waluigi, and Purpley laying on the floor and gasping for breath. They both decided it would probably be best if they didn't ask any of them what just happened.

"See if Purpley and I save you again," Luigi growled and accusingly pointed a finger at Waluigi. "We should've let you become a stick figure on a stick."

"Don't worry. I've figured it out," Waluigi tried to assure him. He got up and inspected the door that he and Luigi escaped from.

"Oh yeah?" said a skeptical Luigi.

"Sure. I think the jewel tells us what's inside the doors. It's just a matter of finding a door with an oval-shaped jewel. Oval like an egg."

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard!" Mario scoffed.

"Same here," Luigi agreed. "But you know what? We'll try your stupid idea. That way if you fall into another trap, it's your own fault."

The gang searched around for a door that happened to have an oval-shaped jewel on it.

"Here's one," Purpley said when she found a door that had a yellow oval-shaped jewel. "But you're going in there alone," she added unhappily.

Waluigi shrugged and entered the door. All was quiet on the other side...

"Well, he didn't scream this time," said Luigi. "I guess it's safe. Maybe?"

Luigi and friends also went inside the door. They found themselves in a bare room. The only decoration was a pedestal that sat in the middle. There is also a small hole in the ceiling that the sun could shine through, creating a spotlight over the pedestal. Waluigi stood next to the pedestal and looked at the object that was on it, a large egg with yellow spots on it.

"Hmm...uh..." Luigi began to say.

"Just as I thought!" Waluigi boasted as he stuck his tongue out at Mario and Luigi. "Warios rule and Marios drool!"

"Seriously?" Mario growled. "Whoever did this had to be an amateur. I mean, Waluigi of all people managed to find it? That's just-"

"Chill out, guys," Pinky said as she tenderly rubbed the egg. "Let's just get Yellowy out of here."

"I agree," Luigi nodded. "We got what we came for. Now let's get going."

The yoshi leader carefully picked up the egg and the temple walls immediately faded away, leaving the party in the desert again.

"That's just bizarre," said Mario. "Guess we don't have to worry about finding the way back."

"Well, to the castle then!" Luigi shouted.

Luigi and friends walked away in the direction that they believe the castle was. But instead, they may be heading right into trouble...


	4. Triple Trouble

Chapter IV: Triple Trouble

After Luigi and friends found the yellow yoshi egg in the Birabuto region of Sarasaland, they headed back to Daisy's castle. Unfortunately, they became lost in the desert on the way there.

"Are we going the right way?" Purpley panted. "I don't think I've seen that rock before."

"Of course we're going the right way," Luigi tried to assure her and looked at the map. "I'm pretty sure we are anyway. I think. Actually, I'm not sure at all."

Mario shielded his eyes with a hand and looked at the horizon.

"See anything, Mario?" Pinky groaned.

"I think I do," Mario answered. "Let's try over there."

The party walked in the direction that Mario pointed to. There seemed to be a town some distance away.

"I hope that is a town," said Luigi. "We could ask for directions and maybe get a bite to-"

Luigi's words were cut off by an explosion just ahead.

"Th-the town just went boom!" Waluigi wailed.

Wanting to see what happened, the party broke into a run. But the desert heat was beginning to take its toll and they slowed down to a jog, then to a walk. Finally, they had to completely stop and catch their breath.

"Luigi! Sir!"

Luigi heard a voice call to him and saw Abu running up to him. He looked like he was in a state of panic.

"I'm so glad to see you again! Something terrible has happened!" Abu shouted.

"What's going on?" Luigi gasped. "Did that town just blow up?"

"Yes indeed! A monster has appeared at my hometown and set a few buildings on fire! I believe it may have some connection to the egg you were looking for!"

"Shoot!" Mario exclaimed. "We'll take care of it right away!"

"I would appreciate it very much. Ah, but you fellows look exhausted. Here. Have some water before you head over there."

Abu gave the party two bottles of water. Mario and Luigi drank from them first, then they handed the bottles to Waluigi and Purpley. Pinky missed out on getting a drink. Her attention was caught by a nearby plant.

"Wait a minute. If this is what I think it is..." Pinky thought to herself as she carefully picked a leaf off the plant and tucked it away under her saddle.

"Okay," said Luigi. "Now that we're not dying of thirst, let's see if we can save that town."

Luigi and friends followed Abu to his hometown. When they arrived, they saw that the citizens were running for cover as they were pursued by a big, red, three-headed snake that was capable to spitting fireballs.

"Well, this is interesting," our hero said.

"Sure is," Mario agreed. "But I have a plan. Get your hammer out and follow me."

Alas, Luigi did not have his hammer with him. In his haste to get to Daisy's castle after taking a nap on the S.S. Garlic, he forgot to grab it.

"No can do. I don't have it on me."

"D'oh! I'll have to improvise then."

"You guys get to some place safe while Mario and I take care of business," Luigi commanded his friends and gave the egg to Purpley. "Take this with you."

Mario thought for a moment. "Okay. I've got it. Now listen..."

After Mario told Luigi his plan, the brothers put it into action. Mario began by pulling out his hammer and running right in front of the snake.

"Hey, ugly! Over here!" Mario taunted.

"Hey guysss," the snake's middle head spoke as it eyed Mario with interest. "Thisss one wantsss to fight usss."

"Ah, thisss could be fun, yesss?" said the right head, who saw Mario as well.

"Let'sss get him, guysss!" the left head hissed.

The snake lunged toward Mario and spit some fireballs at him. Mario kept his cool and used his hammer to deflect the fireballs. One of them managed to hit the snake.

"Yikesss!" the middle head shrieked. "Thisss one'sss tough!"

While Mario had the snake distracted, Luigi prepared to attack it from behind. Luigi raised his arms and got ready to use Hyper Burn; a devastating, fiery blast.

"Actually," Luigi had second thoughts. "I probably shouldn't do that. I might fry myself."

Instead, Luigi charged up another attack, the Green Missile, by getting into a strange squatting position. After a brief moment of this, he launched himself head-first at the beast and burned it on impact.

"Hey!" The right head turned around and saw Luigi charging up another Green Missile. "It'sss him!"

The left head turned around just in time to see the right head get a misfired Green Missile in the face and get knocked out.

"You fool! Watch what you're doi-"

Luigi leaped and smacked the left head with a mid-air karate chop, knocking it out too.

"You think your dirty little tricksss can ssstop usss?!" the middle head shouted in anger.

Mario smashed the remaining head with his hammer.

"Argh! Massster! Help usss!"

Before Mario or Luigi were able to strike again, the snake disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

"Crud! It disappeared!" Luigi said in frustration.

"So true. But I have the feeling we'll see him again," Mario pointed out.

Now that the monster was gone, the town's inhabitants and the rest of Luigi's party came out of hiding.

"Thank you for saving our fair town," Abu spoke. "If there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask."

"No thanks needed," Luigi said proudly. "I already got what I wanted."

"Besides, we were just doing what we do best," Mario boasted.

"That's right. Kicking tail!"

After getting directions and bidding farewell to Abu, Luigi and company made their way to Daisy's castle.

"Hmm..." Luigi murmured as he walked.

"What's up?" Waluigi asked.

"I have the feeling that I've seen that snake before. I'm not sure where though."

"You might be right," said Mario. "It acted like it knew you."

Purpley shuddered. "Do you think it's a friend of the thing that turned the herd into eggs?"

Luigi stopped for a moment to think. Something seemed fishy about this whole thing. "It must be!" he shouted suddenly. "Before it disappeared, it mentioned that it had a master!"

"Maybe," said Pinky. "But let's go, please. I'm getting hungry."

When everyone arrived at the castle, they went inside and looked around for their friends. They eventually found them in the royal library. Oshi and Yosheta were napping in bean bag chairs, Daisy was sorting through a few books and Wario happened to be reading one.

"Hey, Daisy. We're back," Luigi said triumphantly.

"Wow," Daisy smiled when she saw the egg in Luigi's hands. "Looks like you found it."

"Would it be okay if I borrowed this book, Daisy?" Wario asked as he closed the book he was reading.

"You? Want to read?" Mario laughed and took the book from his rival.

The book was called _The World of Plit_. The cover depicted three locations. One was Peach's Castle in the Mushroom Kingdom. Another was Delfino Square on Isle Delfino. The last was a jungle on Kong Isle. Mario opened it and saw that it was filled maps of various places around the globe.

"An atlas, huh?" said Mario.

"Sure," Wario replied. "After I got done fixing the Bloom Coach, I thought I'd take a look at it. It really knows what it's talking about."

Waluigi shook his head. "You actually fixed that thing? You're going soft on me, bro."

"Of course you can borrow it, Wario," said the princess. "Anything to help my Weegiepoo..."

Luigi couldn't help but blush. He and Daisy had been good friends for some time now, but he still gets embarrassed when she called him pet names like that.

"Grazie, Daisy," said Luigi. "I'm sure it'll come in handy. We've got to get going now."

"Good luck, hon."

Luigi woke up Oshi and Yosheta and grabbed the book from Mario, then everyone went outside and walked to the S.S. Garlic. At this time, the sun as well as the temperature was dropping, so they had to move quickly. When they got to the ship, Waluigi went into the kitchen to make some dinner. Luigi went into his cabin and tucked the egg into a corner, set the book down on a nearby table and slumped onto the bed.

"Knocky knocky!" Wario shouted.

Luigi got out of bed and opened the door.

"You didn't plan on going to bed without dinner first, did you?" the captain asked.

Luigi simply rubbed his eyes and followed Wario to the dining room where everyone was eating hot dogs.

"You know," Wario began to say as Luigi ate. "While I was looking at the book, I thought that maybe we should check out Kitchen Island next. It's not too far from here and I'm familiar with the place.

"Sounds fine to me," Luigi yawned.

After he ate his fill, Luigi returned to his cabin and fell asleep. The day had been rather tiring for Luigi, but the next week or so will be even more eventful...


	5. Second Egg in Sight

Chapter V: Second Egg in Sight

Luigi awoke the next morning to the sound of seagulls and ocean waves. The hero stretched and yawned, then got out of bed. Luigi was so busy yesterday that he never actually checked out the S.S. Garlic. He decided to take a good look at it now.

The walls in the cabin had yellow and purple striped wallpaper. The carpet was yellow too. The bed, which was nice and comfy, had yellow sheets and a purple blanket. There was a small nightstand next to the bed with a lamp on it. There was also a small dresser and a soft purple chair on the opposite side of the room. Finally, there was a single window. A quick peek at the other cabins revealed that they all had an identical furniture set-up and color scheme.

"I've got to hand it to Wario," Luigi thought to himself. "This ship really makes one feel welcome."

Luigi would've continued to look around the ship some more when he suddenly realized how hungry he was. So instead, he went to the kitchen to get some breakfast.

"Good morning," Purpley said cheerfully. "Want something to eat?"

Luigi yawned and rubbed his eyes. "You bet."

Purpley picked up a plate of pancakes that Waluigi prepared a moment ago and gave it to Luigi. He sat down at the table and was about to dig in when he noticed Mario and Waluigi playing a card game.

"All right. I play my Wario card," Mario said as he set down a card on the table. "Let's duel!"

"Ah ah ah," Waluigi teased as he played a card as well. "I block with Blue Eyes White Lu- I mean, Super Luigi!"

Mario groaned in frustration and shook his head.

"Hey, guys," said Luigi. "What's up?"

"Hey, dude," Waluigi replied. "We're on our way to Kitchen Island."

"Yup," Mario added. "Wario said that we'll be there within half an hour. Go eat something in the mean time."

"Okay then," Luigi nodded as he squirted some maple syrup on his pancakes.

"Now where were we, Mario? Ah, of course. I pay two coins to block with Super Luigi and counterattack."

"Argh! Not my Superstar's Clothes!" Mario shouted in horror.

After Luigi ate breakfast, he went back to his cabin. He picked up _The World of Plit_ and looked up Kitchen Island.

According to the book, Kitchen Island was once a pirate paradise. But for whatever reason, the pirates disbanded and went their separate ways. In recent times, people have been building villages and populating the island. As for the island itself, there was a beach on the south-west coast called Rice Beach. North of that was Mt. Teapot. To the east was Stove Canyon and farther east was Parsley Woods. There was also something that looked like an iceberg off the north-west coast. It is called Sherbet Land.

Wario pounded on the door. "Hey you! We're here!"

Luigi snapped the book shut and put it in his back pack, then he put that on and went outside.

"Tell me something, Luigi. When you were in Sarasaland yesterday, did you find any treasure? Because if you did and you're not telling me about it-"

"I saw nothing," Luigi replied. "Ask anyone. I'm an honest guy. Would I really lie?"

Wario gave Luigi a cold, hard stare. "I suppose not. You're too much of a goody-goody. Now get going!"

Luigi and his friends got off the ship. The S.S. Garlic had landed at a wide beach with white sand. There was no doubt that this is Rice Beach.

"So the next egg is here?" Purpley asked hopefully.

"We think so anyway, but we're not positive," Luigi answered.

"Hey, Luigi. Look up this place in that book," said Mario.

Luigi got _The World of Plit_ out of his back pack and looked at the section about Kitchen Island. "This is most definitely Rice Beach," Luigi said as he looked at the map. "So that must be Wheat Village over there."

"You mean way over by that giant teapot?" Mario pointed out.

"That's Mt. Teapot. But yes. Exactly."

"Let's head over there and see if anyone knows anything."

Luigi's party walked along the sandy shore to Wheat Village and started their search for the second yoshi egg. Mario started off by going into the first house he saw without even knocking, much to everyone's confusion.

"Did he just...?" Waluigi began to ask.

As suddenly as Mario went into the house, he was tossed back out. Without saying a word, he dusted himself off, then did the same thing at the next house.

"This could take awhile, guys," said Luigi. "Why don't you all check out the marketplace or something?"

Luigi asked everyone he could find if they knew anything about an egg. Some of the residents seem annoyed at the sight of Luigi and slammed the door in his face.

"This would be easier if Mario did this right..." the adventurer muttered to himself.

Luckily, Luigi was able to get some info from a Koopa Troopa that was about to go in a house.

"I think I've seen something like that," said the Koopa Troopa. "Some guy in red came through here awhile ago. It looked like he was holding an egg. He seemed kinda suspicious anyway."

"Really? Did you see where he went?"

The Koopa Troopa pointed to the east. "He was headed that way. I don't know of anything over there besides a cave. He probably went there."

"Grazie. You've been helpful to me."

Before he left the village, Luigi decided to grab his friends so they can head out together. He can't seem to find two of them though...

"Has anyone seen Oshi and Waluigi?" Luigi asked.

"Well, you told us to check out the marketplace," said Wario. "So he is checking the marketplace...for Chuckola Cola."

"Nuts. Anyway, somebody told me that they saw someone that might have an egg go east. I need to check it out."

"Don't you think we should find our friends first?" Pinky asked.

"Eh, I'm sure Waluigi can stay out of trouble," Luigi replied. "At least for a little while."

Luigi and his five friends left the village and head east where they easily found a cave. Luigi carefully peeked inside and saw a guy with purple hair and a red pirate outfit sorting through several treasure chests.

"The skull captain casts his gaze..." the pirate sang in a hearty voice. "The red jewel shines and plays... It's a boom-bassa-boo-"

"No way! It can't be!" said a shocked Mario.

"Huh? Who goes there?!"

Mario walked into the cave." What the heck, Flavio? How'd you get here? I thought you'd be dead by now!"

"Well well well. It's the mustache man."

"You know this dude?" Luigi asked as he and the rest of the party entered the cave.

"Yeah. We've met before."

"What brings you all the way out here?" Flavio chortled.

"My brother and I are looking for something. I have the feeling that you might have it."

"Is that so? What might that be?"

While Mario and Luigi conversed with Flavio, the yoshis started to dig through the pirate's belongings.

"Argh! I'm being raided!" Flavio yelled when he saw the yoshis.

"Relax," Luigi said calmly. "We're not taking anything except what is mine."

"I think I found it!" Yosheta shouted as she held up a white egg.

Flavio snatched the egg away. "Give me that! I just got this from Stove Canyon, you know!"

"Oh, really now?" Wario questioned. He was skeptical about Flavio's bold claim. "That place is literally an oven."

"Why would you just go and take the treasure that I just found, hmm?"

Luigi couldn't help but feel a little guilty. "Sorry, Mr...uh..."

"The name be Flavio."

"Right. Flavio. That egg is really one of my friends. I just want to rescue it, you see."

"Well, now. I fought a great fiery monster to get this. I can't just give it to you."

"C'mon..." Luigi was getting desperate. "I'll do anything."

"Hmm," Flavio put a hand on his chin. "I've heard that there's a valuable jewel in Sherbet Land. Get that jewel for me and the egg is yours. Do we have a deal?"

"You scum!" Wario blurted out. "You call yourself a pirate?! You lazy piece of crap! I bet you never even went to Stove Canyon!"

Wario went to assault Flavio, but Mario and Luigi managed to hold him back. It was no small feat if you consider that Wario is much stronger than the two of them.

"That's quite enough out of you," Mario grunted.

"He's scamming you, Luigi," Wario said as he withdrew. "That egg doesn't even have spots on it."

Flavio shoved the egg right into Wario's face. "Look closer, you fool! It has white spots!"

It is hard to notice at first, but the egg does, in fact, have white spots on it.

You know what?" Luigi said thoughtfully after some consideration. "You've got a deal."


	6. Icy Antics

Chapter VI: Icy Antics

Luigi had found out that the second yoshi egg was in the possession of a pirate named Flavio. He would only give it up if Luigi recovered a special jewel for him in Sherbet Land. The heroes took a moment to make preparations on the S.S. Garlic before they set out for the snowy area.

"I'd better join you for this one, Luigi," said Mario. "I'm an expert at traveling through tundras."

Pinky shuddered. "Will it be cold? I don't like cold..."

"I want to show that singing freak who's boss!" Wario bellowed. "I sat out the last one anyway."

Yosheta shook her head. "I'm not sure if I want to go or not."

"Snow sucks," Waluigi said bluntly.

"Take me with you. I can help," said an eager Oshi.

Luigi gazed back and forth between his friends and tried to determine who to bring with him for the trip.

"Mario, it's not even a tundra," Wario said as he flipped through _The World of Plit_. "It's more like an iceberg."

"Who cares? I can handle anything," Mario boasted.

"Let me get this straight," Luigi said after awhile. "Mario, Wario and Oshi want to come. Waluigi and Pinky want to stay here. Yosheta can't seem to choose. And I think it's safe to say that Purpley wants to go too. Am I right?"

Everyone agreed that what Luigi said was correct.

"Hmm..." Luigi continued. "If Yosheta doesn't go, then there would be two yoshis and only one person here. And that person is Waluigi. That doesn't sound too good to me."

"I'll go with you then," Yosheta said, her tone sounding louder and more focused than usual. "I know I haven't really helped you much before, but I want to try now."

"I suppose that will do then. Waluigi and Pinky will stay here while the rest of us go."

"Right. Let's go," Mario instructed.

Luigi and his crew were about to leave, but Luigi stopped to give Pinky some advice. "Don't turn your back on Waluigi," he warned. "In fact, just lock yourself in a cabin and don't come out until I get back."

"Okay..." said the pink yoshi. "But I must tell you something too. If you get tired, please take a rest."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Pinky's comment didn't really surprise Luigi. Pinky was often the voice of reason in the yoshi herd. After all, she is a mother and has a reckless mate, Mini Bluey.

Luigi and friends left the S.S. Garlic and made their way across Rice Beach and went through a short tunnel that connected the beach to the mainland. From there, they began the climb up Mt. Teapot.

Luigi shivered when he saw Sherbet Land in the distance. "I really don't like the look of this."

"What's the matter, Luigi?" Wario teased. "Don't you like snow?"

"Give him a break, Wario," Mario said firmly.

"Seriously. Don't you like sledding?"

"Not after that accident!" Luigi shot back.

What about snowball fights?"

"No!"

"How about skiing?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Excuse me," Yosheta spoke up. "But what's a snowball fight?"

"Simply put, you make balls out of snow and throw them at people," Mario explained. "You'd probably like it. I imagine it's like tossing eggs."

Luigi wasn't too pleased about the last thing Mario said and glared at him.

"Did I just do something bad?"

"That sounds fine to me," Yosheta giggled. "Why don't you like snowball fights, Luigi?"

"You'll see in a awhile..." Luigi muttered.

"Whatever, dude." Wario said as the gang stopped at the bridge leading to Sherbet Land. "We're here. Now let's get crackin' and get over there. Unless some of you are afraid of snow."

"I am NOT afraid of snow! I just don't like cold, you...you..."

"Look! You're stuttering already!" Wario laughed.

"Uh-huh. Real mature, jerk."

While Wario continued to make fun of Luigi's dislike of snowy climates, Mario and the yoshis wasted no time and crossed the bridge.

"C'mon now, Wario," Luigi said when he noticed the others go ahead. "Everyone just left us. Are you coming too or do you need some convincing?"

"Hey! Whoa!" Wario backed away when Luigi pulled out his hammer. "No need for that!"

Wario quickly ran across the bridge as Luigi chased him with his hammer swinging. On the other end, they found Mario teaching the yoshis how to make snow angels.

"Okay. You just get down on your back like so," Mario said as he demonstrated. "Now move your arms and legs like this a few times. And that's all. Getting back up might be tricky though. Someone give me a hand?"

Oshi helped Mario stand up as Luigi and Wario approached.

"Hey there, Luigi," Purpley smiled.

"Wanna have a little fun and make a few snow angels before we look for the jewel?" Mario asked while he brushed some snow off his bottom.

"You're crazy," Luigi griped. "Rolling around in the cold stuff is NOT my idea of fun."

"You're just a fat grinch, Luigi," Wario grinned.

"That's not funny. Luigi isn't even fat," Mario pointed out.

"Heh. That's probably why he can't take the cold. He's not fat like us."

Mario laughed. "You might be onto something there."

Luigi wasn't too amused by this joke and muttered something to himself in Italian. Meanwhile, the yoshis ran off and made snow angels in every bit of snow they could find.

"Yeah. Sure. Laugh all you want, goofballs," Luigi said sternly as a ball of electricity formed in his left hand.

Mario saw what Luigi was up to and immediately quit laughing. Wario wasn't so lucky. Luigi snuck up to Wario and continued to charge up his Thunderhand technique. When he felt that the time was right, he unleashed the electrical energy and give the fellow in yellow quite the jolt!

"Yow!" Wario screamed in pain. "That really stung! What the heck was that?!"

"Electricity is so fun to play with," Luigi cackled.

"Are you two done bickering yet?" Mario asked impatiently. "Because it looks like the yoshis took off without us."

After Mario made Luigi and Wario apologize to each other, the trio looked for the wayward yoshis. Luckily it was a simple matter of following the trail of snow angels that they left behind. After a quick search, they found the dinos struggling to cross a large patch of ice. They were only able to take a few steps before they fell down, only to have a hard time getting back up.

"Hang on. I'll help you guys," Mario said as he skillfuly skated to the yoshis.

"Thanks, Mario. But where's Luigi?" Purpley asked after Mario assisted her.

Mario simply pointed in the direction that he came from. Luigi was standing at the edge of the ice and tapping his foot. Luigi is usually quite agile, but he's rather clumsy on ice.

"If you guys can get off of there, that's be really nice!" Luigi called over to the yoshis.

"I'd better show you how to get around on ice," said Mario.

Mario gave the yoshis a lesson on ice-skating. They weren't too good at first, but they were fast learners and caught on. They were on their way to getting to Luigi when...

"Snowball fight!" Wario shouted.

"Now wait just a darn minute!" Luigi protested.

Wario began to make snowballs and hurl them at Mario and the yoshis. Mario knew what Wario was up to and started pelting him with snowballs as well. The yoshis saw what Mario was doing and joined in too. Luigi wasn't the least bit happy about seeing the snowball fight on ice take place.

"Cut that out, you guys! Someone is bound to get hurt!"

Luigi ran onto the patch of ice to stop the fight, but he lost his footing and slid on his belly. Purpley saw the oncoming Luigi and managed to jump out of his way. Mario wasn't so fortunate. Just before his brother rammed into him, he threw a snowball right into Wario's eyes. The blinded Wario ran around and nearly crashed into Yosheta. However, Oshi protected his friend by jumping in front of her and taking the hit.

"Yowch!" Oshi shrieked in pain.

"Get off him!" Mario said as he shoved Wario off Oshi and helped him get up. "Are you okay?"

"I think so." Oshi winced and limped a bit, then fell down. "I guess I'm just a bit clumsy though."

"Oh, Oshi..." said a worried Yosheta. "You're hurt."

"I knew it!" Luigi fumed. "I knew this would happen! You guys just had to mess around! This is one of the reasons I absolutely hate ice and snow!"

"Oy..." Wario said in a daze. "What happened?"

Luigi's face was now bright red with anger. "What happened?! I'll tell you what happened! You and your stupid game just injured a yoshi! That's what happened! Just for that, you're taking him back to your ship! Right now!"

Not wanting to further enrage Luigi, Wario agreed to return Oshi to the S.S. Garlic. He picked up Oshi and heaved him over his shoulder, then began to walk toward the bridge.

"Where do you think you're going, Yosheta?" Luigi asked when he saw the young yoshi follow Wario.

"I can't leave Oshi," Yosheta confessed. "Not when he needs me."

"I think I'd better go too," said Mario, who did not fully trust Wario.

"I don't care," Luigi sighed. "Just get out of here."

Mario and Yosheta shrugged, then followed Wario back to the S.S. Garlic.

"We should probably look for the jewel now," said Purpley, the only one of Luigi's friends that didn't leave.

"That's right. I almost forgot about it because of this whole mess. Better get moving before we freeze to death."

Luigi and Purpley left the ice and began to hike up Sherbet Land. With only one friend by his side, Luigi didn't feel very confident. Matters started to get worse when the pair got caught in a blinding snowstorm.

"I'm cold, Luigi..." Purpley shivered. "Are we going the right way?"

"I don't know. Our 'friend' Wario really screwed things up for us. We'll be fine if we just stick together though. I hope so anyway..."

Luigi tried his best to be strong for both of them, but he wasn't sure how long he can keep it up. He had no way of knowing where he was even supposed to go. Still, he wasn't willing to give up. He had to stop eventually however. Although his mind told him to proceed, his body said otherwise.

"Are you doing okay?" the hero asked Purpley.

The only thing Luigi heard was sound of the whistling wind.

"P-P-Purpley?! W-where are you?!"

Again, there was no response.

"Oh n-n-no. I...I lost her..."


	7. Scaling Sherbet Land's Summit

Chapter VII: Scaling Sherbet Land's Summit

Luigi had a rough start when he arrived at Sherbet Land and things simply went downhill from there. He was now toughing it out all alone in the middle of a snowstorm.

"I don't think I can do this," Luigi thought to himself. "I've got no map and no friends eithe-"

Luigi's thoughts were interrupted when his stomach rumbled.

"And no food in my belly. Great. I should've grabbed a snack before coming here. If only..."

Luigi suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"No!" he said aloud. "I can't be thinking like that! This is no time to be thinking about food. I gotta get that jewel. I'd probably feel better if I just whistled a catchy tune. Yeah."

Luigi tried to whistle his favorite song, but his face was so numb from the cold that he could only get a few notes out.

"Why is nothing working for me today?!" Luigi shouted and stomped his foot in frustration.

In a last ditch attempt to warm himself up, Luigi tried to fire up a Hyper Burn attack. Unfortunately, the flames fizzled out shortly after they flared up. It was no use. Luigi was utterly exhausted and collapsed.

The next thing Luigi knew, an unfamiliar voice was talking to him... "Kid. Hey, kid. Are you okay?"

Luigi opened his eyes and saw that he was lying on a soft feathery bed inside a cozy log cabin. Just a few yards away was a fireplace with a warm fire going in it. Luigi was so relieved by his surroundings that he didn't even notice the Bumpty near him.

"Glad to see you're wake, kid."

Luigi turned in surprise and looked at his savior. Bumpties are penguin-like creatures that are typically found in Shiver City and the snowy mountaintops of Yoshi's Island. It was nice to find a friendly face in such a deserted place.

"Where am I?" asked a confused Luigi.

"Why, this lovely little adobe is my house," the Bumpty answered.

"Well, how did I-"

"I was outside for just a moment and found you laying there. You almost froze to death, kid."

The Bumpty waddled over to a nearby table, grabbed a mug of hot cocoa from it and handed it to Luigi.

"Here, kid. This oughta warm you right up. Careful now. It's hot stuff."

Luigi sipped the cocoa greedily. It was a welcome relief from the bitter cold and he didn't care if it burned his mustache off. As he drank, he could feel the cocoa warm up his insides.

"Are you some sort of adventurer, kid? You must be way up here for some reason."

"I am. Do you happen to know anything about a jewel around here? Oh, and have you seen a purple yoshi at all?"

The Bumpty thought for a minute or two. "Nope. I can't say I know about either of those things, kid. But if it means anything, there's a cave further up ahead. I believe there's a cabin like this one near it. It might be worth a look."

"Grazie for the cocoa," Luigi said as he put the empty mug on the table. "I gotta be going now."

"Hold up, kid! You can't go out like that!" the Bumpty called after Luigi as it grabbed a green parka from his dresser. "This oughta keep you nice and warm while you're out there, kid."

Luigi accepted the parka and put it on. It was a few sizes too big, but Luigi didn't mind at all.

"You look good in it, kid. No need to return it."

"Grazie," Luigi thanked the Bumpty again. "I owe you one."

"Good luck out there, kid."

Luigi left the cabin and continued with his search. The snowstorm was over so Luigi was able to see clearly again. Luigi began to scale the chilly cliffs. The over-sized parka that he wore slowed him down a little bit, but Luigi figured that it was a small price to pay for keeping warm. After awhile of this, Luigi took a break. During the quick rest, he noticed that the snow twinkled a bit and it was completely silent except for Luigi's panting.

"You know," Luigi contemplated. "When I'm not bickering with Wario or getting stuck in a storm, this place is actually sort of pretty. I wish I knew what happened to Purpley though. I bet she would like this."

As Luigi gazed at the landscape, he noticed a cabin further up the trail. This was probably the one that the Bumpty mentioned. It was clear what Luigi had to do now. He had to get over there and check it out. He was able to reach it with little problem, but something didn't seem quite right...

"That's weird. Whoever lives here left the door wide open."

Luigi went to close the door and caught a glimpse of the inside. Something was very wrong here. Luigi stepped inside to investigate. It was a mess. Everything appeared to be scorched black and covered with ash.

"What on Plit happened here?!" Luigi pondered as he scooped up a handful of the gray, flakey substance.

The entire scene made Luigi feel quite uneasy and he ran back outside. He did not go very far, however. True to the Bumpty's word, there was a cave near the cabin. It looked dark and spooky and there seemed to be strange noises inside too. Luigi considered going back, but he had other thoughts.

"No! I wouldn't have come this far if I ran away all the time. Mario, no, the entire Mushroom Kingdom would've been in real trouble if I didn't go through that mansion. That does it. I'm going in!"

Luigi went inside the cave. It was dark at first, but it got brighter and brighter as Luigi went along. The source of the light was right at the end. It was a chuck of blue crystal that hovered a few feet in the air. Luigi was bewildered by the sight of it.

"This must be what Flavio was talking about. Hmm. Even if it isn't, I'm sure it will do."

The adventurer was about to take the jewel when he had the feeling that he was being watched. He turned around and saw a large, sunglasses-wearing mouse blocking the way out!

"You took your sweet time getting here!" the mouse sneered.

"Who the heck are you?!"

"None of your business, pal! I know you got the egg in the desert and your friend beat Fryguy. But that's as far as you'll get!"

The mouse pulled out a bomb and threw it at Luigi, but the hero countered the sneak attack by kicking it back right into the mouse's face!

"Ooh. So you think you're a wiseguy, eh?" the mouse growled as it pulled out more bombs. "Get a load of this!"

The rotten rodent threw more bombs at Luigi. Using his hammer, Luigi was able to deflect most of them. The ones he missed whizzed right by him and blew up on the wall behind him. After a few explosions, the cavern started to shake.

"Oh no!"

The mouse didn't seem to be worried about the quaking and threw a few bombs at the ceiling.

"What do you think you're doing?! Stop that!"

"Heheheh! See you later, sucker!"

Luigi let out a war cry and charged toward the mouse, but it disappeared in a puff of smoke before the impact. The cavern continued to crumble and Luigi realized what the mouse was trying to do. He intended to make the cave collapse on top of Luigi!

"I've got to get out of here!" Luigi said as he grabbed the jewel and used its light to find the exit.

Outside, everything was still shaking and quaking. If Luigi didn't get out of Sherbet Land soon, he'll be put on ice. Unfortunately, the only way out was the bridge and it was a pretty long way there. Luigi gazed around for something that could aid him in the escape and saw the cabin.

"I'm darned if I do and I'm darned if I don't!"

Luigi tugged on the door of the cabin a few times and managed to tear it right off. Then he set it on the ground, hopped on it and began to snowboard down...

Meanwhile, Mario and Purpley had found a spot on Mt. Teapot to relax when Mario had an uneasy feeling.

"Something wrong, Mario?" Purpley asked.

"I think I see trouble," Mario answered as he pulled out his binoculars and looked toward Sherbet Land.

"Yeah. That doesn't look good. But Luigi got out of there by now, right?"

The both of them paused for a a few seconds to think.

"Oh no..." they said in unison.

In Sherbet Land, Luigi clearly isn't too thrilled with his mode of transportation.

"I'm gonna die!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "I'm gonna die! I'm gonna throw up and then I'm gonna die!"

But after hanging in there for awhile, Luigi got used to the ride and calmed down a bit. He saw the Bumpty's cabin up ahead. Luigi no longer needed the parka and intended to return it, so he carefully maneuvered his makeshift snowboard so he'll go right by it and took off the parka. Using impeccable aim, he managed to hang it on the doorknob as he zoomed by.

The Bumpty was quietly relaxing in his home when he heard something outside. He opened the door, but Luigi was already out of sight. Then he noticed the parka and scratched his head.

"I suppose the kid is alright," he said as he brought it back inside.

By now, Luigi's ride was almost over. There was a jump up ahead which he launched off of beautifully, but the bridge was up ahead. Luigi might not be able to make the landing. He had to make a choice...and fast. He can either try to steer the snowboard in mid-air and risk missing the bridge and land in the water or he can ditch the board right now and use his scuttle ability to stick the landing.

"All right! Let's do this!"

Luigi decided to go with the latter. He flicked the board away and kicked his legs to slow his descent. Just before he landed on the bridge, he used his ground pound technique in order to avoid hurting himself by the long fall. Afterward, he sprinted as fast as he could to Rice Beach.

Mario was over at Flavio's cave already. After he saw Luigi snowboarding out of Sherbet Land, he came here to let the pirate know that his jewel was on its way.

"I'm pretty sure Luigi has the jewel," said Mario. "Can we have the egg now?"

"How do I know you're not scamming me?" Flavio contested.

"I know the guy might not look like much, but he's got loads of potential. People just don't seem to notice it..."

At that moment, Luigi bursted into the cave. He ran right up to Flavio, then flopped onto the ground to catch his breath.

"Oh, man..." Luigi panted. "That was cooool..."

"Aha. There you are, lad. Have you got the jewel?"

Mario took Luigi's back pack from him and opened it. "Is this it?" he asked as he removed the glowing floating jewel.

"Oho! It must be!" Flavio said excitedly. "Aye! What a shining beauty! Well, you lads kept your end of the deal, so I'll keep mine. Here we are. One yoshi egg."

Luigi accepted the white-spotted egg. "Grazie."

"When the little critter comes out, let it know that I saved it, yes?"

With the egg in hand, Luigi and Mario left the cave. As Luigi returned to the S.S. Garlic, he noticed the sunset and it gave him a nice warm feeling...

"Don't worry, guys," the leader of the yoshi herd said confidently. "I'll get the rest of you soon enough."


	8. To the Island of the Kongs

Chapter VIII: To the Island of the Kongs

After he braved the chilly conditions of Sherbet Land, Luigi was able to claim the second yoshi egg. Now he was relaxing in his cabin with Purpley and Pinky.

"I'm so sorry I left you, Luigi," Purpley confessed. "I got so scared when I couldn't see you anymore that I had to come back here."

"Don't worry about it," Luigi said as he pet Purpley. "I understand. I'm just glad nothing happened to you. How is Oshi doing anyway?"

"He'll be fine tomorrow," Pinky answered.

"Good to hear that."

Someone knocked on the cabin door. Luigi got up and answered it. It was Wario.

"Hey, guys. Chow time," the captain said.

"Good to hear that too," Luigi smiled. "I'm famished!"

Luigi and the yoshis followed Wario to the kitchen where Waluigi got some ravioli ready for everyone.

"Hey, Luig-" Mario began to say.

Luigi didn't seem to notice him. He quickly served up a plate for himself and chowed down without talking to anyone.

"Whoa! Slow down!" Mario said in alarm. "You don't want to choke, do you?"

"You really wanted that, huh?" Wario asked.

Luigi burped. "Sorry. But cold weather like that can give one a bit of an appetite."

"You've got a point there," Mario admitted. "Heck. Adventuring in general can do that."

Luigi got right down to business after everyone was finished eating. "So, Wario. Do you have any idea where we should go next?"

"Waluigi had some time to check _The World of Plit_," Wario replied. "Go ask him."

"Okay then. Waluigi, same question. Replace Wario's name with yours."

"After looking at that book, I think we should head for Kong Isle."

"Yeah," Wario agreed. "It's not too far from here and I don't think D.K. will be a jerk like that one guy. That was just dumb."

Luigi nodded. "Sounds fine to me. We can probably get the Kongs to team up with us and help look for the egg."

"What are Kongs?" Yosheta asked. She and the other yoshis had never heard of such a thing.

"The Kongs are good friends of ours," said Mario. "They're really nice folks. You gotta watch out for Cranky though."

"I better give them a call and let them know we're coming."

Luigi pulled out his phone and dialed D.K.'s number, then he waited as the phone rang a few times.

Eventually, the main monkey himself picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hi, D.K."

"Hey, Mario! How's it going, bud?"

"Actually, this is Luigi."

"Oh, dang. You two sound a lot alike over the phone. So what's up?"

"I've got a quick question for you. Have you seen any yoshi eggs lately?"

"You mean one with blue spots?"

"Huh-what?" Luigi sputtered, surprised by D.K.'s answer. "Yeah! One of the eggs I'm looking for has blue spots. Where did you find it?"

"Diddy and Dixie were out for a walk through Fungi Forest and found it there. They asked me if I knew anything about it, but I didn't. So I've been holding onto it until someone came to get it."

"Great. I'll be over there tomorrow to pick it up."

"Roger that, good buddy. Catch you later."

"Was that good news I heard?" Mario asked when Luigi ended the call.

"Yup. D.K. found one. This is gonna be a piece of cake."

"Wanna bet that he'll make you do something for it anyway?" Wario snickered.

"Like what?"

"He'll probably make you play a mini-game or something."

Mario disagreed. "C'mon now. Even if that was the case and Luigi happens to lose, I'm sure D.K. will give it to him anyway. He's a pretty nice guy."

"Whatever," Luigi yawned. "I'm hitting the hay. Good night, guys."

Meanwhile, inside a dark castle in a distant land, a large shadowy figure sat upon a throne and gazed at a crystal ball that he had in his grasp. The throne also had a rather unhappy pink Birdo chained to it.

"MOUSER!"

The mouse that Luigi faced in Sherbet Land appeared and bowed down. "Yes, my master."

"I'm trusting that Luigi has been properly dealt with."

"Of course, master. I got him good! I put him on ice! I-"

"Then what do you call this?!" the dark presence bellowed as he showed the crystal ball to Mouser.

Mouser gulpped. The ball showed that Luigi and Purpley were sleeping soundly on the S.S. Garlic.

"Well...I guess I made a...miscalculation...master...?"

"Get out of my sight, you useless rat!"

Mouser did as he was told.

"I suppose that if you want a job done right, you've got to do it yourself. I'm sure you know what I mean." The shadowy figure pet the Birdo, causing it to growl.

The next morning was a rather quiet one. Luigi woke up and walked out onto the deck. He stayed there for a moment, enjoying the ocean breeze. After Luigi had enough of this, he went into the kitchen to get some breakfast. Strangely, the kitchen was deserted. All Luigi found was a box of cereal on the kitchen table with a sticky note on it.

"Let's see here," Luigi said as he looked at the note. "'Hey, you. The early birds got all the worms so here's your breakfast. Waluigi.' Heh. That guy has a weeeird sense of humor."

After having two bowls of cereal, Luigi went to look for his friends. He found all of them at the swimming pool near the back of the ship. Mario, Wario and Pinky were sitting on beach chairs. Waluigi, Oshi and Yosheta were swimming in the pool. Purpley sat at the pool's edge with her feet in the water.

"Hey, guys," Luigi called out to them. "What's up?"

"Just waiting for you," said Wario.

"Shouldn't you be steering the ship?"

"I've got two words for you. Cruise control, baby."

"That's three words. And I'd rather not be called 'baby' if you don't mind," Luigi frowned.

"Anyway, we're just chilling out since this egg will be so easy to get."

"Speaking of chilling..." Mario added. "Did you have to beat anyone to get that jewel yesterday?"

"I didn't actually fight anyone, but I ran into a big mouse. He was weird. He seemed to know about the egg in Sarasaland."

"Uh oh. You think he has any connection with the three-headed snake?"

"Maybe, Mario. Maybe. He also mentioned something called Fryguy."

"Huh... There's a lot of Shy Guy types, but the closest thing I can think of is Pyro Guy. Could just be another name for that."

"Hey!" Luigi shouted when he saw some of his friends in the pool. "Didn't your mothers ever tell you not to go swimming right after eating?"

"We all ate a few hours ago," Wario pointed out. "They're fine."

"Oh..."

"Hey, Luigi. Wanna have a breath-holding contest?" Waluigi challenged.

"Sure. Why not?" Luigi accepted and slid into the cool water.

Mario laughed to himself. "Poor Waluigi..."

"I'll say," said Wario. "He's never been able to beat Luigi at it."

"Excuse me, but what's a breath-holding contest?" Pinky asked.

"It's simple," Mario explained. "It's just a contest to see who can hold their breath underwater the longest."

"That sounds easy enough. I wonder why Luigi never taught us that one?"

"That's not fair!" Waluigi protested after he lost the contest. "How the heck do you do that?"

"Lots of practice," Luigi said with a grin.

"Darn it! Let's try this again!"

"Anyway," Mario continued. "Luigi's quite good at it. Heck, he's good at swimming in general. If there's anything he can do better than jumping, it's swimming. Heheh. It must be that sleek physique."

"I know," said Pinky. "We have swimming races. The only one of us that can even keep up with him is Yosheta."

"Really? Yosheta?"

"Yeah," Yosheta spoke up. "I love the sea, so I swim a lot."

"Hey! Whoa!" Purpley shouted. "Stop that!"

Waluigi lost round two and tried to pummel Luigi in a fit of rage. Luigi managed to get away before any damage was done.

"What a bad sport," Luigi scoffed. "Just the same as always."

"Hey, Luigi. I've got a question," said Mario.

"What's up?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but were you snowboarding in Sherbet Land?"

"Guilty as charged. But I didn't have a choice! It was do or die!"

"Where did you even get the snowboard?"

"It wasn't actually a snowboard. I ripped a door off a cabin that got wrecked and used that."

"Resourceful as ever, I see," Mario chuckled.

"With that said, it was sorta fun. Might be something I could get into."

"I've been thinking about it myself. Peach mentioned to me that she wanted to go skiing sometime. Perhaps we should go on a trip together."

"Sounds cool."

"We're almost at Kong Isle, guys," said Wario. "I'm gonna go to the helm before we run smack-dab into it."

"Excellent," Luigi smiled as he watched Wario walk away. "This egg is as good as got!"


	9. Evil Shows Its Face

Chapter IX: Evil Shows Its Face

That afternoon, the S.S. Garlic arrived at Kong Isle where the blue yoshi egg was waiting for Luigi to claim it. Luigi got off the ship first and gazed around the place, but he didn't see any of the Kongs.

"I wonder where D.K. is?" Luigi asked. "He should've been expecting me."

"He's probably at the tree house," Mario said as he caught up to his brother.

Mario and Luigi continued to walk along the beach. The yoshis were curious about who the Kongs were and followed them.

"If I remember right, and sometimes I don't, the tree house is at the end of that tunnel," Mario pointed out.

Before Luigi could enter the tunnel, D.K. came out of it. He also had Diddy and Dixie with him.

"Hey there, Luigi!" D.K. said heartily. "Good to see you!"

"Same here," Luigi smiled. "You've got the egg, right?"

"Sure do. But how did you lose an egg here in the first place?"

"It's a little complicated..."

While Luigi tried to explain the situation to D.K., the yoshis noticed Diddy and Dixie. The Kongs also eyed the yoshis with much interest.

"Oh, cool!" Purpley shouted. "Monkeys!"

"Wow!" Dixie exclaimed. "Yoshis!"

"Who are you guys?" Diddy asked.

The yoshis and the Kongs introduced themselves. They all seemed to get along okay although Yosheta was being a bit shy as usual.

"Hey, Diddy," D.K. said to his little buddy. "Would you mind grabbing the egg for me? I put it in the banana hoard."

"No problem, D.K. You guys wanna come?" Diddy offered.

"Okay," Oshi said as he and the other yoshis followed Diddy and Dixie into the tunnel.

"Simply put, I'm trying to get all the eggs back," Luigi said, wrapping up his explanation. "But I've still got four more to get."

"You and Mario can get them all. No sweat," D.K laughed. "But if you guys need anything, and I mean anything, just give me a ring."

"Uh...guys?" said a worried Mario. "Shouldn't Diddy be back by now? And where did the yoshis go anyway?"

Mario, Luigi and D.K. look at each other in silence for a minute, then immediately ran through the tunnel to the tree house.

"OH NO!"

They couldn't believe what they saw. All of their friends were laying on the ground, bruised and beaten.

"D.K...I'm sorry," Diddy moaned.

As if the sight of hurt yoshis and monkeys wasn't bad enough, there was a fat frog on a magic carpet floating above them. The frog wore a necklace, a crown and a robe. He was also holding the blue yoshi egg in his grasp...

"Did you do this?!" Luigi shouted angrily when he realized who this could be. "I'll get you for this! Who are you?!"

"I am your worst nightmare, the great Wart!" the frog croaked. "Whahaha!"

Luigi was furious. The hero let out a war cry and jumped at Wart, but the villain used a teleportation technique to dodge the attack.

"You may have been able to get two of the eggs, but I'll make sure you won't get this one!" Wart sneered. "Oh, curses! I've used up all my magic on these puny friends of yours! No matter. I'll simply do this the old-fashioned way instead. This will prove to be rather amusing."

Luigi stood there in shock as Wart flew away.

"I think..." Luigi groaned as he put a hand over his chest. "My heart just stopped..." He promptly fainted.

"Whoa! Are you okay?" D.K. asked.

Mario knelt down and looked at Luigi. "I'm not sure what's wrong with him. He looks pretty healthy to me."

"Ugh..." Luigi grunted as he recovered. "What was that?"

"That guy took off with the egg! We gotta go after him!"

Funky Kong, who had no idea what was going on, showed up at the scene in Diddy's hovercraft.

"Hey, Diddy. I finished fixing yo-" Funky stopped and did a double-take. "What the heck happened here?!"

"Give me that!" Luigi hijacked the hovercraft and drove off to pursue his enemy.

"Dude! That's uncool, man!"

Mario sighed. "This does not bode well."

"I'll say. He just needs to chiiilll."

Although Wart had a big head start, Luigi was able to catch up to him with the hovercraft. As Luigi approached him, he began to stand up in his ride. When he was just a few feet away, he went for it. Luigi leaped out of the hovercraft and latched onto Wart.

"What the?!" Wart bellowed. "You little-!"

The sky darkened and the waves began to swell as Luigi and Wart struggled. The hero desperately tried to tear the egg out of Wart's grasp while the villain tried to rid himself of the enraged Luigi. Luigi suddenly decided to fight dirty and bit Wart's hand. Wart yelped in pain and released the egg which, unfortunately, fell right into the sea.

"You fool!" Wart laughed, not displeased at all. "Do you realize what you just did? Unless you've got gills, you'll never see that egg again! Whahaha!"

Luigi only replied with a growl.

At this time, the S.S. Garlic showed up to assist. After Luigi took off in the hovercraft, Mario went to the S.S. Garlic and told Wario to follow him. The ship was able to catch up during Luigi and Wart's struggle.

"Grab the rope!" Mario yelled as he threw a rope toward Luigi.

Wart saw Mario trying to help. He attempted to swat Luigi off the rope and dunk him into the rough waves, but instead he only managed to send Luigi flying face-first into the side of the ship.

"Ow! My nose..." Luigi winced.

"Pull, Wario!" Mario demanded. "Pull!"

"I'm doing all the pulling, you macaroni muncher!" Wario scowled.

With Wario's help, Mario was able to get Luigi onto the deck safely. Good thing too, because the storm had reached its peak. It would have been disastrous if Luigi didn't get away from Wart.

"Wario! Get back below deck with Waluigi and the yoshis!"

"Aye!"

"You fools think you can defeat me?!" Wart challenged.

"Bring it on!" the Mario Bros. shouted.

Mario launched an attack first. He took a deep breath and blew ice all over Wart with his Freeze Blaster; an attack that is capable of instantly freezing its target solid in a single shot. But the technique didn't seem to have any effect.

"No! It didn't work!" Mario said in shock.

Luigi followed up with his powerful Hyper Burn. The attack just bounced right off Wart.

"What?! How can that be...?"

"Is that the best you fools can do?" Wart scoffed as he dove toward Luigi.

"Nope!" Luigi countered the attack with a jump. "There's more where that came from!"

"Let's try a Bros. Attack!" the older brother suggested.

"I've got just the thing..." the younger brother grinned.

Luigi stood behind Mario and charged up a Thunderhand, then he held the ball of electricity over his head and jumped.

"What is this trickery?" Wart asked, a little confused by what the siblings are doing.

"Advance!"

Mario backed up so Luigi landed in front of him, then he pounded him into the ground with his hammer. Luigi burrowed underground and got under Wart. Finally, Luigi popped up and blasted Wart with a pillar of lightning. The villain shrugged off this attack as well.

"Cripes. This reminds me of the time Bowser stole the Star Rod," Mario sighed.

"Most amusing," Wart said as he struck Luigi with a lightning attack of his own. "But I am quickly growing tired off this battle!"

"That does it!" Luigi fumed. "It's time to bring out the big guns!"

"Wait! You don't mean...Swing Bros.?"

"That's exactly what I mean!"

Mario grabbed Luigi by the hands and began to swing him around in circles.

"Now what are you fools up to?"

Mario swung Luigi faster and faster until they looked like a blur of colors. After they got up to speed, Mario launched Luigi. The speed and distance was nice, but the aim, however, wasn't. Mario completely missed the target, sending poor Luigi right into the sea!

"Nooooo!" Mario screamed when he realized his mistake.

"Mama mia!"

"Wahaha!" Wart laughed. "Thank you, Mario. You did my job for me. But your usefulness is over!"

Wart unleashed a barrage of lightning bolts on Mario. They proved to be too difficult for Mario to dodge and left him in critical condition. Wart laughed one last time and disappeared.

"Mario!" Luigi gasped. "Help me!"

Mario lay on the deck, unable to move. He was too injured to even stand up, let alone aid Luigi. He was beaten just like the Kongs and the yoshis.

Luigi tried his best to keep his head above the water, but it was useless. The waves were relentless and soon enough, Luigi had used up all of his strength and sank in the dark and murky water.

"Is everything okay up here?" Waluigi asked as he and Wario came up from below deck.

"We heard some screaming and-" Wario stopped when he saw Mario on the floor and Luigi was gone. "Oooh crap..."

Waluigi took Mario back down below deck and gave him and the yoshis some mushrooms to help them heal. Wario had gone to the helm.

"How could I have let this happen?!" Mario yelled at himself. "How can I be so stupid?! I've failed as a big brother!"

"Calm down, Mario," said Pinky. "Everything will be okay."

"I can't calm down! Not after that!"

"Whoa. Sounds like someone has issues," Waluigi remarked.

"I can't believe I did that! Especially after what happened when we were kids!"

"Huh? What happened?" Purpley asked.

"I...I'd rather not..."

"Please? You might feel better if you let it out," Pinky urged Mario.

"I-I-I...I think I almost...killed Luigi once..."

The yoshis gasped in surprise.

"It was back when we were just kids..." Mario began.

"Where are you going, mom?" said a young Mario a long time ago.

"Your dad and I are going to pick up some groceries," his mother replied. "Now stay here and watch your brother."

Mario looked at Luigi. He was sick at the time and was sitting on the living room couch with a blanket wrapped around him.

"But I wanna go sledding with my friends."

"No," Mario's father said firmly. "Stay here and take care of Luigi. We'll try to be back within an hour."

"Okay..." Mario frowned as his parents left.

Mario, still wanting to go sledding, came up with a plan. He didn't have to stay home and watch after Luigi if he brought him sledding with him. Mario asked him if he wanted to come. Although Luigi wasn't feeling well, he didn't want to hurt Mario's feelings by saying no and agreed to come. After putting on their coats, mittens and other wintertime gear, the brothers hit the slopes.

"Hang onto me real tight, Luigi," Mario said as they prepared to go down the hill the first time. "And here we goooo!"

After they had gone down the hill, Mario checked on Luigi, who seemed to be rather quiet during the ride. But Luigi wasn't on the sled. He had fallen off halfway down the hill. Mario, now fearing for his brother, ran up the hill and saw that Luigi wasn't moving at all.

"LUIGIII!" Mario cried.

Luckily, Wario and his mother were also sledding on the hill. Mario asked Wario's mother for help. She went to the nearest house and called 911 as well as Mario's parents. The ambulance arrived quickly and Luigi was taken to the hospital. Mario was sent home where he received a scolding from his parents.

"How could you do this?!" his mother cried into her hands. "You knew Luigi was sick!"

"I'm very disappointed in you, Mario," his father sighed. "I gave you one simple job and you couldn't even stick to it."

Mario simply looked at his parents with tears in his eyes. He didn't seem to understand what he did wrong.

Luigi recovered at the hospital and was able to come home several days later. Mario was sitting in the living room all alone when his parents brought Luigi home. Their father was holding him is his arms.

"I'm sorry I couldn't hang on," Luigi said to Mario when he greeted him. "You must think I'm a bad brother now and you'll never want to play with me again..."

"That really got me," Mario finished with the tale. "I screwed up big time, yet he blamed it on himself. It just isn't right."

"Aw...c'mon, Mario," Purpley said sympathetically. "You were just a kid."

"You don't understand," Mario sobbed and punched a nearby wall. "I'm his big brother! I'm supposed to protect him!"

"Hey! Don't do that!" Waluigi grumped. "Wario will flip if he sees a single dent in his ship!"

Pinky pat Mario on the back. "I'm sure Luigi is okay. He's usually okay."

"Yeah, Mario. This is Luigi we're talking about," said Oshi. "He's a tough guy. I mean, didn't this sort of thing happen to him before?"

"I just...don't know..." Mario sighed. "I need some quiet time..."


	10. The Undersea City

Chapter X: The Undersea City

Luigi almost claimed the blue yoshi egg on Kong Isle, but it was stolen by Wart, the frog that had turned the yoshis into eggs and started the mess in the first place. Luigi and Mario battled him in a showdown on the S.S. Garlic, but things didn't go well at all and Luigi splashed down into the stormy sea...

After being unconscious for some time, Luigi began to wake up. The first thing he saw was what appeared to be a clone of himself. Luigi jumped off the bed he was on in surprise and raised his fists.

"That's real mature!" he shouted. "Ambushing a guy when he's down!"

Luigi remained in his fighting stance for a moment and waited for the clone to make a move. It never did, however. Luigi became a bit curious and walked up to it, then poked it right in the eye.

"Oh, wow!" Luigi laughed in relief. "It's a life-size plushie of me! Pretty good likeness, I must say. But who does this belong to...?"

Luigi looked at his environment for the first time since he regained consciousness. He seemed to be in someone's bedroom. There was a bed, a dresser and a desk with a computer on it. This didn't look like a normal bedroom though. The posters on the walls had Luigi on them. The shelf had all kinds of Luigi collectibles on it, many of which Luigi had never seen before. Luigi looked at the computer screen and saw that it used a Luigi wallpaper. There was even a Nintendo DS with Luigi stickers on it sitting on the dresser.

"A-am I dead? Is...is this...heaven?"

Luigi felt weak and fell onto the bed. He didn't know what was going on or what to do. He noticed a lava lamp on the desk. It had green wax and blue liquid. Luigi was a huge fan of lava lamps and watched it until he drifted off to sleep...

When Luigi woke up from his little nap, he saw he was in the same place as before. He wasn't alone this time though. There was a human girl doing something on the computer. Luigi looked at her, but did not speak. She appeared to be a teenager that was about the same height as Mario. She wore a purple shirt, dark blue jeans and white shoes with stars on them. She also wore a purple headband and had her long brown hair up in a ponytail. The size of the ponytail rivaled Dixie Kong's.

"Well, hi there," the girl smiled when she heard Luigi yawn. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I guess so," Luigi answered. "But where am I? And who are you?"

"Um...well... I'm not very good at introductions, but I am Princess Amy Kay and this is the city of Aquapolis."

"Aquapolis? Never heard of it before."

"Not surprising. If you look out the window, you'll see why," Amy said as she pointed to the only window in the room.

Luigi took her word and looked outside. Aquapolis was a city that was about the same size of Toad Town, the capital of the Mushroom Kingdom. Luigi gazed up a little bit and saw blue water and fish instead of a blue sky and birds. Upon closer inspection, the city was covered by a clear bubble of some kind and the water was outside of that.

Luigi was speechless, but eventually he was able to say something. "How on Plit did I get here?!"

"I was wondering the same thing too."

The princess explained to Luigi that she was swimming around outside of the city when she found the poor fellow unconscious on top of some coral. She brought him inside the city and to the emergency room. The doctor told her that he would be fine, but it would be best if he was taken to a safe place and carefully watched over. Afterwards, she took him to her castle and kept an eye on him until he finally woke up.

"Wart...that fiend..." Luigi moaned and rubbed his head. "I'm sorry, but I have to go now."

"Hey! Wait!"

Luigi turned to head out the door and stumbled. "No...not again..."

"I don't know where you think you're going," Amy said as she helped Luigi onto her bed. "We're underwater, remember? You can't possibly hold your breath long enough to get to the surface. Even if you could, you really shouldn't try. I mean, considering the condition you're in. The doc mentioned that you look a bit banged up."

Luigi paused to think. He didn't like to admit it, but he knew that Amy was right.

"Listen, Luigi. I'm sure you have things you have to do, but right now you need to rest. That reminds me..." she continued and gave Luigi a bottle of pink liquid. "Drink this elixir. It will help you relax and get your strength back."

"Grazie," said Luigi. He uncorked the bottle and took a sip.

"Ah, you do speak some Italian."

"Hey. How do you know my name anyway?" Luigi asked when he finished the drink. He suddenly realized how silly his question was and slapped his forehead.

"Oh, you," Amy giggled. "Of course I know who you are. I'm a Platinum Rank Luigi Fan Club member."

"I'm willing to believe that. Just look at all this stuff you have. I swear, that big plushie scared me half to death!"

Amy nudged the plushie. "Heheh. This old thing?"

"Of course."

"So. Are you feeling better now?"

"Why, yes," Luigi nodded. "I am actually. Uh...what did you say your name was again?"

"The name's Amy Kay. I'm not really too fond of that name though, but eh. Nothing I can do about it."

"How about a nickname then?"

"Sure," Amy agreed. She thought being nicknamed by Luigi himself was too good to pass up.

"Okay then. What do you do around here?"

"I handle importing stuff from other places and exporti-"

"I meant hobbies," Luigi laughed. "For goodness sake, you don't need to be so formal."

"Just sit around and play video games. I really should be getting to my job though."

"Oh. Alrighty then. Don't want you to get in any trouble."

Amy sat down at her desk and opened a program on her computer. Luigi looked at the screen and saw that something wasn't right.

"Hey! You're just playing Solitaire!"

"Okay okay! I'll get back to work for real."

"What was it you did again?"

"Importing and exporting goods," the princess explained. "Due to the city's location, we can't really grow crops. We have a few fruit trees, but that's it. We have to import just about everything else from other places. Special submarines that were made specifically for the job bring the stuff down here. On the flipside, seafood is very easy to get down here and we export some of that."

"Neat. Hey...um... Could you show me where the bathroom is?"

"That's a bit of a problem. I never actually told anyone that I have you here and my parents usually aren't thrilled about having guests."

"Isn't there anything we can do?"

"Don't worry. I've got a plan. Follow me."

Amy took Luigi by the hand and lead him down the corridors of Aquapolis Castle toward the bathroom. Luigi had no clue what Amy had in mind and he wasn't sure if he wanted to ask.

"When I tell you to, go really limp," Amy instructed. "And don't blink your eyes."

"Huh? Why?"

"It's part of my plan. Oh, and you might want to hold your breath too."

Amy stopped dead in her tracks when she heard something coming down the hall. She told Luigi to follow her instructions and he did. Luigi let himself drop to the floor, stared straight ahead, took a breath and held it.

Somebody came out of a nearby hallway. It was a lady that looked a bit like Amy. Aside from being older, she was a bit on the chubby side and had much shorter hair. She also wore a crown instead of a headband. This was the queen of Aquapolis.

"Hello, mother," Amy said half-heartedly.

"Hey, Amy Kay. Huh? What are you doing with that doll of yours?"

"That's pretty clever," Luigi thought to himself. "Making me pose as her plushie."

"I'm taking it to the sewing room," Amy said quickly. "There's a seam on the mustache that needs to be fixed."

"Well, don't take too long. Dinner is just about ready."

"Right. I'll be there in a minute."

The queen was about to walk away when she noticed Luigi blink his eyes accidentally. "Did that thing just-"

"No, mother."

"I swear, that thing looks more realistic every time I see it," said the skeptical queen.

Luigi struggled to hold his breath during the long conversation. "Great," he thought. "I gotta breathe!"

"Uh. Right. Later!" Amy blurted out as she dashed behind a corner with Luigi in tow.

"Whew..." Luigi let go of his breath. "Nice plan there, Amy. Except for the part where I thought I was gonna die."

"Sorry," Amy apologized. "I didn't count on mom talking for that long. Anyway, the bathroom is the first door on your left."

Amy waited as Luigi did his thing in the bathroom. When he finished, the two of them were able to get back to her bedroom without running into anyone else.

"I hate to leave you like this, Luigi, but I gotta go eat dinner."

"Yeah. You probably don't want to keep your mom waiting."

"I'll try to bring back something for you though. Feel free to read a book or something. See you later."

After Amy left the bedroom, Luigi looked out the window and sighed. He knew that he should be happy that Amy saved his life, but he was feeling sad and lonely right now. He wasn't sure if he liked the idea of being in such an isolated place.

Above the waves on the S.S. Garlic, Mario and the yoshis were in the cabin that Luigi used to sleep in and mourned over their loss.

"I can't believe he's gone," Purpley said with tears in her eyes. "Just like that..."

"What are we supposed to do?" Yosheta asked. "We don't have a leader anymore."

Oshi was looking at the police sketches that Mario brought in his pack back. He was growling at a particular one.

"What's with you, Oshi?" Mario questioned when he heard the angry orange yoshi.

Oshi showed Mario the drawing. It was a frog with a crown, a necklace, and a robe; just like Wart. "I want to make this guy pay for what he did to Luigi!"

"So do I, Oshi. So do I. But what's it matter? It won't bring Luigi back."

Waluigi barged into the room, much to everyone's annoyance.

"What do you want?" Purpley huffed.

"Sorry to interrupt weepy time, but where the heck are we suppose to go? Wario's complaining about sitting in the same spot for hours."

Mario sighed. "Take her home. We're finished..."

"Seriously?"

"When we get back, the yoshis and I will make a shrine to Luigi on Yoshi's Island. It's the least we can do."

"Okay then. I'll tell Wario to go back to the Mushroom Kingdom," Waluigi said and left to do the task.

Mario flopped onto the bed. Ever since losing Luigi, he's been depressed and generally didn't feel well. The yoshis left Mario so he could rest with the exception of Pinky, the one that often stuck with him.

"Hey. What's this?" Pinky said as she curiously eyed Mario's lap. There was a strange faint light that caught her attention.

"Huh?" Mario also noticed the light. He reached into his right pocket and pulled out the ring he got back in Sarasaland.

"Oh yeah. It's that one thing you found before we got the first egg."

"I completely forgot about this ring. I wonder why it lit up though."

"Do you think it might be telling us something?"

"Maybe," Mario said with a little bit of hope in his voice. "Just maybe..."


	11. A Glimmer of Hope

Chapter XI: A Glimmer of Hope

Luigi was in the middle of laying down on Amy's bed and flipping through a gaming magazine when Amy came in. She held a plate with a soft-shelled taco on it.

"Here's your dinner," Amy said nervously. "But I know you're Italian and I don't know what kind of toppings you like."

Luigi happily accepted the meal, however. "It's no big deal. Tacos aren't too different from pizza. I mean there's meat, cheese, tomatoes..."

"I still wonder how you got down here," Amy said while Luigi ate. "What happened?"

"I dunno. It's a long story."

"C'mon. Please?"

"Well...okay..." Luigi said reluctantly.

Luigi didn't want to go into detail. He explained to Amy that he was simply a good friend to a herd of yoshis and Wart came along one day and turned them into eggs. Though he was able to get the first two without too many problems, Wart dropped the third one into the ocean.

"So then you sorta went overboard as well, huh?" Amy asked. "That's too bad."

"I just wish there was something I could do..."

"It's a long shot, but I'm gonna help you look for that egg tomorrow."

Luigi just shook his head. He doubted that such a bold claim could possibly be true.

"That's a nice ring you have there," Luigi said, changing the subject.

"You dig mood rings, huh?" The princess held out her right hand so Luigi could see it better.

"Yeah. But I was actually talking about the other one."

Amy held up that hand as well. The ring she wore on that one had a green heart-shaped jewel on it.

"This old thing?" she asked, feeling a little surprised that Luigi even noticed it. "I found it a few weeks ago. It reminded me of you for some reason, so I kept it."

"It's pretty though. Look at that glow."

"Glow?" Amy looked at the ring again and saw that it was glowing. "Weird. It's never done that before. Why is it doing that now?"

"Maybe we can figure it out tomorrow," Luigi yawned. "I'm getting tired."

"I suppose it's about time for me to go to bed too. Don't worry. There should enough room on my bed for both of us."

Luigi laughed to himself. "Well, once you get my stuffed doppelganger off."

"Oh yeah. No need for that to be there when I've got the real deal now," Amy said as picked up the plushie and sat it down on her computer chair.

Luigi settled down on the bed while Amy turned the light off, then she got into bed as well.

"Good night, Luigi."

"Night, Amy."

Although Luigi felt rather tired, he was having a rough night. He woke up a few hours later. Everything was completely dark aside from the pale light of a 1-Up nightlight. Luigi got out of bed and looked out the window. The ocean was pitch-black, but the city did have some streetlamps for light during nighttime.

"I wish there was some way I can let Mario know where I am..." Luigi sighed.

Luigi was about to try to go back to sleep when he saw Amy's computer and got an idea. If the princess was able to use it to import and export things, it must have an internet connection. Luigi booted it up to see if there was anything he can do.

"Okay. This seems to work," Luigi whispered. "E-mail. Li'l green bro at MKOL dot com. Password..." he paused for a second. "I'm-a number one."

Mario was sound asleep on the S.S. Garlic when some strange music came from within his back pack. The song in question was a sped-up version of the Super Mario World credits. Mario tossed and turned in bed, then put his head under the pillow.

"Urgh..." Mario murmured. "Don't e-mail me right now, Luigi..." Mario stopped and thought about what he just said. "Wait! Luigi?!"

Wide awake now, Mario grabbed his back pack. He took out his Mailbox SP and flipped the device open. Mario looked at the screen and read the mail he just received.

"'Mario, I am sending you this message to let you know that I'm fine. I ended up in the underwater city of ah-kwop-ah-liss.'" Mario was unsure of how to pronounce the name of the city. '"The princess there is taking care of me. Please let the yoshis know about this and don't worry about me. Luigi.' So...I guess he didn't die after all..."

Mario closed the Mailbox SP and returned it to his back pack, then he went back to bed. He was relieved to hear from Luigi, but he wished he knew more about his whereabouts.

"Hey, you!" Wario pounded on Mario's door the next morning. "It's time for you to get your butt home!"

Mario answered the door. "Seriously? But I got-"

"I was told that you wanted to go home. Now get!"

"That's true, but I got a message from Luigi last night."

"Oy..." Wario shook his head and tapped his foot. "Now your head is messed up, huh? Might wanna see a doctor or something."

"This is not a joke!" Mario fetched the Mailbox SP so Wario can see the message himself.

Wario quickly read the mail. "Well, I recognize the e-mail address. It must be real then. You know, I think I saw something about Aquapolis in _The World of Plit_. Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back."

Wario left Mario's cabin and returned with the book a few minutes later. He and Mario sat down on the bed and huddled over the pages.

"I saw it in the index of unconfirmed locations," Wario said as he flipped to the appropriate section. "See. Right there. 'Aquapolis, pronounced ah-kwa-poh-liss. It is believed that Aquapolis is a city about the size of Toad Town concealed entirely inside a clear protective bubble underwater near Kong Isle.'"

"That sounds about right," Mario nodded. "We lost Luigi shortly after we left Kong Isle. He's gotta be there."

"Knock-knock," Waluigi said just outside the door, which was left wide open. "You're still here, Mario? I thought you were going back to Yoshi's Island to make a shrine."

"There's been a bit of a change of plans. Luigi is still out there."

"Yeah," Wario chimed in. "Mr. Diehard never actually kicked the bucket. He's in an underwater city."

"Now if only there was a way we can get down there..."

The three humans became quiet. Is there anything they can do to get Luigi back?

"I have an idea," Waluigi spoke. "It isn't exactly pretty, but I think it's worth a try. Come, Wario. We gotta go fetch something. Mario, you and the yoshis stay on the ship. Don't worry. I know what I'm doing." He and Wario left.

Pinky, who slept in the same room as Mario, woke up because of the talking.

"What's going on?" she said groggily. "Are we home yet?"

"Yes, but I don't think we're gonna stay for long," Mario answered. "We're gonna go rescue Luigi."

Pinky had no idea what Mario meant by that and gave him a bewildered look.

Mario and the yoshis went to the kitchen to have some breakfast, a pot of oatmeal. They were almost finished when they heard a loud thud outside.

"What was that?" Yosheta gasped.

"I don't know, but I'm checking it out," Mario said as he headed out the door.

Outside, Mario saw that the S.S. Garlic was moving. This would mean that Wario was at the helm, so Mario decided to go there.

"What are you doing here?" Wario grumped when he saw Mario.

"I thought I heard something around here. Something big."

"That would probably be Waluigi. He's at the back of the ship. He's actually waiting for you."

Mario shrugged and left Wario to do his thing. At the back of the S.S. Garlic, he found Waluigi tinkering with what appeared to be a fairly large piece of machinery.

"What the heck is that thing?" Mario asked.

Waluigi backed up so Mario could see it better. It was a submarine. It featured a green and blue paint job that was similar to the one Luigi's kart, the Green Fire, had. It even had Luigi's signature green letter L on the fins.

"Ladies and gents," Waluigi beamed. "I present to you Luigi's personal sub, the Green Marine!"

"A submarine..." Mario said as he looked at it from front to back. "This is just the sort of thing we needed! But where did it come from? Luigi never told me about this before."

"Only E. Gadd, Luigi and I knew about it until now. Technically, it's a prototype."

"I guess your plan is to take this down to Aquapolis and get Luigi, huh?"

"Not quite," Waluigi said nervously. "I was going to get you to do it. It would just be awkward if I did it. Also, chances are Luigi would kill me if he found out I used the Green Marine. Or at least give me a beatdown."

"I doubt that," Mario disagreed. "I'm willing to bet that if Luigi knew that you played a role in saving him, he wouldn't do that."

"Perhaps. Anyway, Wario is getting the ship to around the place where we lost Luigi. There's still the little problem of it being a prototype."

Mario looked at the controls in the cockpit. "What's the matter with it?"

"We haven't had a chance to test out the weapons yet."

"That's all? Heh. I probably won't even have to blast anything. I'm gonna let the yoshis know what's up."

Mario went to check on the yoshis and found them in his room. They all looked forlorn.

"Why the long faces?" Mario asked them. "I already told you that Luigi is still alive."

"Yeah yeah. I know," Purpley frowned. "It's just not the same without him."

"Don't worry. I'm gonna look for him in awhile. Why not do something to take your minds off this? How about the swimming pool?"

After the yoshis left to go swimming, Mario laid down and took a nap.

"Mario," said Pinky. "Mario, wake up."

"D'oh... What is it now, Pinky?"

"The ring is glowing again."

Mario looked at his right hand. When he saw the ring glow yesterday, he decided to wear it so he could keep an eye on it. The ring was indeed glowing, though not nearly as brightly as before. But as time went on, the glow intensified.

"'Stones as different as night and day,'" Mario quoted the riddle from the temple in Birabuto. "'Their lights will help show a way. If the holders happen to go astray.' By golly, I think I've got it!"

Mario got off the bed so quickly that he almost tripped over his feet, then he high-tailed it to the helm.

"Stop the boat, Wario!" Mario shouted excitedly. "This is the spot!"

Waluigi was getting a crane ready to put the Green Marine in the water when Mario and Wario arrived on the scene.

"What makes you so sure this is the right place?" Wario asked Mario.

"As Luigi once told me while we were golfing..." Mario gazed at the ring. "You gotta believe!"

"I've got everything all set," Waluigi announced. "I'm just waiting for the pilot now."

"Are you sure you don't want to drive it?"

"You'll be fine," Wario said while giving Mario a shove.

"What's going on?" Purpley asked. She heard the commotion and came to investigate.

"Our good buddy Mario here is gonna use that sub to get Luigi back," Waluigi explained.

Purpley watched as Mario climbed into the Green Marine. Using the crane, Waluigi picked up the submarine and placed it in the water.

"Wish me luck, guys!" Mario shouted as he waved to everyone.

Mario closed the hatch and examined the controls. To be honest, he didn't quite know what to do.

"Couldn't Waluigi tell me how to operate this thing first? Oh, wait..." Mario stopped when he saw a sticky note with basic operation instructions written on it. "That's handy."

After reading everything the note had to say, Mario knew exactly what to do.

"Luigi, here I come..."


	12. Down in the Depths

Chapter XII: Down in the Depths

That same morning while Mario was using Luigi's submarine, the Green Marine, to search for his brother, Luigi was waking up in Amy's room.

Amy was already awake. Today she wore a tie-dye shirt, light-blue jeans and black sandals. She still had the headband on and her hair in a ponytail. Luigi chuckled when he saw the brightly-colored shirt.

"Okay. I need to tell you something."

"What's up?" Amy asked.

"I thought of a nickname for you, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell you yet."

"Go on."

"Well, I thought you looked like a bit of a hippie chick, especially now that you're wearing that. So how about the nickname Chicky?"

Amy pondered on that. She liked the name. It was cute and simple. It was sort of true too. She was happy to accept it.

"Great," Luigi smiled. "So what's up, Chicky?"

"I've got your breakfast right here," Amy said as she handed Luigi a plate. "I hope you don't mind breakfast burritos."

Luigi felt slightly offended. "Chicky! That's a stereotype! Us Italians eat more than just pasta and pizza!"

"Sorry. It slipped."

Luigi began to eat his breakfast. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna be a picky eater. Not in this situation anyway."

"Argh. What happened to that shipment of corn?" Amy muttered while she busily clicked away on her computer.

"I need to use the bathroom. Can you get me there?"

"Sorry, but I'm a bit stuck on this. Think you can get there on your own?"

"I don't even know the way."

"It's not too hard," Amy explained. "Turn left when you leave. Take a right at the first hall you get to. From there, it is the third door on the left. Remember to act like a plushie if anyone comes."

"Grazie."

Luigi left the safety of the bedroom and followed Amy's directions to the bathroom. He had no trouble getting there, but it was a different story on his way back. Luigi took a wrong turn by mistake and heard footsteps coming from behind him. He quickly assumed the position.

"What is this doing here?" Amy's mother said to herself when she saw Luigi on the floor. "I thought Amy Kay brought this to the sewing room yesterday."

Staying in this position is tricky indeed and Luigi accidentally blinked his eyes.

"Wait a minute." The queen was more skeptical than ever and started poking Luigi in the ribs.

Luigi was unable to cope with this stimuli. "Gah! Stop it!"

"Eeeek! I _knew_ you looked too real for a doll!"

"Please don't hurt me!" Luigi pleaded. "I wasn't gonna cause any trouble! Honest! I just wanted to use the bathroom...!"

"You're...you're Luigi, aren't you?"

"You know who I am?"

Amy's mother gazed up at the ceiling profoundedly. "I'm well aware of who you are. My daughter Amy Kay is always talking about 'cool' you are and how she's always wanted to meet you. You want to know something? I'm glad you're here. Amy Kay has always been stuck in this castle and she's never had a chance to make any real friends. You're just what she needed. Listen, just go back to her and pretend that you never saw me. Are we clear on that?"

The queen shooed Luigi away and he returned to the bedroom.

"Are you okay?" Amy asked when she noticed Luigi's nervous expression.

"I'm a little spooked," he replied. "I had a bit of a run-in with your mom. But I fooled her again with the plushie act. By the way, did you ever figure out how to make the ring glow?"

"No luck. I tried everything I could think of. I tried rubbing it, waving it around, putting it near certain objects. Heck, I even put it on you while you were still sleeping. But nothing worked."

"Oh, bummer."

"You relax for a bit while I finish up business here," Amy said as she plugged away at her work. "When I'm done, we'll look for the egg together."

"How are we gonna do that?"

"It'll be tricky, but leave it to me. I know what to do."

Once Amy got all the orders up to date, she and Luigi left the bedroom. Amy lead Luigi through a few corridors and out the backdoor of the castle and into the courtyard. Amy then proceeded to a mermaid statue and pressed a hidden switch on it. The statue moved backward to reveal the entrance to a water-filled tunnel.

"Put these on," Amy instructed as she handed Luigi a pair of goggles as well as an odd-looking device.

Luigi put on the goggles, but he wasn't sure what the other thing was. "What's this?

"It's a rebreather. It let's you breathe underwater."

"Ah. Gotcha. I was wondering what your plan was."

"Need a little help?" Amy asked when she saw Luigi fiddle with the device.

"No. I've got it now," Luigi answered. He had a little difficulty putting the rebreather on because of his large nose, but he was able to make it fit eventually.

"Okay! Let's go!" the princess and the plumber shouted.

The pair dived into the water and swam through the short tunnel. Luigi was an agile swimmer, but Amy was even faster. Luigi was a little surprised by her speed at first, but then he remembered that she did live in an underwater city. Surely she's had a lot of swimming practice.

"Am I going too fast for you?" Amy teased.

"You've clearly done this before."

After they emerged from the tunnel, Luigi and Amy began to scour the ocean floor for the yoshi egg.

"Hmm..." Amy said after what seemed like hours of searching. "This is harder than I thought."

"Let's face it," Luigi groaned. "Nothing's easy for me..."

"Also, what's the deal with this thing?" She and Luigi looked at her ring which was glowing again.

"There might be something around here that's causing it. Let's split up and meet back at this reef in awhile."

The two part ways for the time being. Luigi was curiously looking at some sea stars when he felt something on his shoulder. Feeling a bit frightened, Luigi spun around to see what it was.

It was only Amy. "Luigi! Over here!"

Before Luigi could say anything, Amy grabbed him by the arm and swam toward some orange coral. Luigi was pleasantly surprised by what he saw. It was the blue yoshi egg. It was wedged between two sharp-looking chunks of coral.

"Well, I'll be..." the hero began to say.

"I tried to get it out, but it wouldn't budge," Amy shrugged. "I'm sure you're stronger than me though. You give it a try."

Luigi held onto the egg and tried to pull it out gently, so as to not break it. It didn't move. Luigi tried again, tugging a little harder this time. The chunks of coral suddenly split apart, almost causing Luigi to go flying backward.

"See? I knew you could do it, Luigi."

The coral quickly snapped back into their original position. It was actually the pincher of a giant crab!

"AAAHHH!"

The Green Marine arrived during this time. Mario saw the commotion and came to investigate.

"Mama mia! Those two people are being attacked by that giant crab! I've gotta do something..."

Luigi and Amy managed to escape from the crab with the yoshi egg in hand. They looked back just long enough to see the crab get peppered with torpedoes.

"C'mon. Let's get out of here," Luigi urged. "This was probably a trap all along." He and his friend swam back to Aquapolis.

"Holy crab. That was messy," Maio sighed after he finished off the crab. "I wonder what those people are doing way down here? Could they be from Aquapolis?"

As if answering his own question, Mario piloted the Green Marine and went in the direction that he saw Luigi and Amy flee. After a few moments, he saw what appeared to be a snow globe.

"That must be Aquapolis..." Mario said in awe.

Now that Mario found the city, he needed to figure out how to get inside. He started by circling around until he could find any kind of opening. The first one he saw was too small for the submarine to fit in. After a little more looking, Mario found a second, much larger one. Mario guided the Green Marine through it. The tunnel ended at an air pocket. The Green Marine surfaced and Mario opened the hatch and looked around.

Mario was now in what looked like a docking bay. The area housed a few larger submarines. Mario climbed out of the Green Marine and walked around on the platform. He spotted a wooden door to one side and checked it out. Behind the door was a short hallway with a pair of glass doors. This was the gate to Aquapolis.

"Oh, wow. This place is bigger than I thought."

Mario had barely begun to explore the city when he was jumped by a couple of Cheep Cheeps that guarded the area. One of them, Randy, was red while the other one, Gerald, was green.

"Who goes there?!" Randy demanded. "What business do you have here?!"

"I'm...looking for someone..." Mario squeaked, surprised by the sudden encounter.

"Well, you sure picked the wrong place to look, buddy! Turn around and go back to where you came from!"

"Hold up now," Gerald, who was calmer than Randy, spoke up. "This guy looks familiar. Let's hear what he has to say first."

This was Mario's chance. He had to make the next thing he said count. "It's-a me, Mario?"

"Mario...Mario...Mario..." Gerald mused.

"Oh, I know you now!" Randy smiled. "You're Luigi's brother!"

"Yeah. That's me. You know about Luigi?"

"Sure," said Gerald. "I escorted him and the princess from the hospital to the castle just yesterday. Heck, that's probably why you're here."

Randy was a little confused. "Wait. So that wasn't her doll I saw her with?"

"Why would she bring her doll to the hospital?"

The conversation between the guards went on for a few minutes while Mario patiently waited for them to finish.

"Hey...uh..."

"Oh, right," Randy apologized. "In any case, you should probably see the princess."

"I'll tell you how to get to the castle," Gerald began to explain. "Follow this road we're on this way to Dolphin Lane, then take a right and keep going to Kelp Road. There, you just take a left. The castle is a straight shot from there."

"Great. Thanks," Mario said before he started to travel through the city.

"No problem," Randy replied. "Sorry if we caused you any trouble."

Inside the castle, Luigi and Amy were resting after their close encounter with the crusty kind. Amy put on some calming music on her computer while Luigi examined the egg.

"The egg seems to be fine," Luigi sighed with relief. "I was worried there. I mean, this one kinda went through a lot."

"I'm not sure if I want to eat crab legs for awhile," Amy joked. "That's too bad, because it's really tasty stuff."

"On another note, what about your ring?"

"I had to put it in my pocket. It's glowing so bright now that it was blinding me."

"I wonder if the egg has something to do with it..." Luigi theorized.

"Probably."

Someone knocked on the bedroom door, much to Amy's annoyance.

"I'm busy, mother!" the girl snapped.

The door opened anyway. Luigi and Amy gasped when they saw who it was...


	13. Escaping Aquapolis

Chapter XIII: Escaping Aquapolis

Luigi and Amy couldn't believe who just showed up at her bedroom. As unlikely as it seemed, Mario had somehow managed to find Luigi in the underwater city of Aquapolis.

"Mario?" Luigi wasn't sure if what he was seeing was for real.

"Luigi!" Mario shouted the moment he saw his missing brother.

Mario barged into the room and wrapped Luigi up in a bear hug. It was difficult to tell, but Mario had tears in his eyes.

"I thought I lost you, Luigi," Mario sobbed. "I'm so sorry..."

"It's fine," Luigi assured him. "But how did you find me?"

Mario let go of Luigi. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his glowing red ring. This got Amy's attention. She pulled her glowing green ring out of her pocket.

"Just as I thought," Mario nodded. "My ring lead me to another one."

"So that's what the deal is. Luigi and I have been trying to figure this thing out all morning."

Now that the rings fulfilled their purpose, the brilliant red and green glow faded away, returning them to their original appearance.

"Who are you anyway? Are you the princess here?"

"Yes. I'm Princess Amy Kay," the girl said politely. "But just call me Chicky, please."

"Glad to meet you, Chicky. Thank you so much for taking care of Luigi. I didn't know what I was gonna do with mys-"

Mario's sentence was cut off by someone else knocking on the door.

"Oh, nuts," Amy frowned. "Quick, hide behind my bed, guys."

"Amy Kay!" the queen shouted from the other side of the door. "Let me in! I know you have company in there!"

Amy did everything she could to make sure no one, especially her mother, knew that she was keeping Luigi in her bedroom. So how did she figure it out? Feeling defeated, she sighed and opened the door.

"I just came to see if Mario made it in here okay," the queen said in a strangely calm tone. "Oh. Looks like he did."

Amy didn't know what her mother was talking about. "Wait. What?"

"Yeah. About that..." Mario began. "A couple of the guards in the city told me how to get to the castle, but I got lost once I went inside. That's when I ran into your mom. I just asked her if she knew where Luigi was and she told me to go to this room."

"But how did you even know about Luigi, mother?"

"I bumped into him in the halls this morning."

"And you guys talked?" Amy guessed. "Funny how you didn't mention that to me, Luigi."

"I was...too scared..." Luigi stuttered.

"Oh, I'm in trouble. I'm gonna get it now."

"Trouble?" the queen laughed. "Certainly not. In fact, I have a proposal for you."

"A proposal, huh?"

"Yes. Lately, I've been thinking that you've come to the age where you need to get out. Make new friends. Go adventuring. Surely, you know what I mean. If it is okay with Luigi, I was wondering that perhaps you could go with him."

"Huh?!"

"I wouldn't mind taking her along," said Luigi. "But are you sure about that? I know she has an important job to take care of."

"Don't worry about that. I can handle the computer work just fine. Go on. You could use a vacation."

Amy was speechless. "But...wha..."

"Amy Kay, as your mother and your higher-up, I demand that you go with your friend Luigi. I'll run ahead and tell the guards to let you through the gate."

"Well...okay, mother..." was all the princess could say before her mom left the room.

Amy packed several sets of clothing and other items into a suitcase while Mario checked out the yoshi egg that Luigi recovered.

"Isn't this the egg Wart stole back on Kong Isle?"

"It isn't stolen anymore," Luigi smiled. "I got it back."

"Great. So there's four more to go, right?"

"Yeah. Hopefully I won't have this kind of trouble while getting them. I gotta remember to stay out of the water. Heheh."

"Okay, guys. I've got everything I need," Amy said as she clicked the suitcase closed. "Shall we go now?"

"Of course," Mario replied. "I'm sure everyone is wondering where the heck Luigi and I are."

The brothers followed the princess out of the castle and through the city. When they got to the gate, they saw Randy and Gerald there, ready to bid Amy farewell.

"Oh, Princess Amy Kay. Your mother told us the whole thing," said Randy.

"Please promise us that you'll have a safe trip," Gerald added.

"C'mon, you two," Amy scoffed. "You sound like I'm never coming back. And I'll be traveling with Luigi. He's not gonna let anything happen to me. Isn't that right?

"You got it," the hero nodded.

"See? I told you that wasn't a doll," Gerald said to Randy.

"Give me a break. I only saw him at a distance."

The guards allowed the trio to exit the gate.

"Don't mind them," Amy told Mario and Luigi. "They're nice guys, but they have a habit of overreacting."

"Hey, Mario. What's the Green Marine doing here?" Luigi asked when he saw his submarine in the docking bay.

"How did you expect me to get down here?" Mario answered. "I see a problem though..."

"What's wrong?"

"The Green Marine is only a two-seater. I can't fit all three of us in there."

"No problem. I'll just ride on top," Amy suggested.

"But how are you gonna b-"

Amy pulled out a rebreather and strapped it on.

"Don't worry. Air isn't a problem now," Luigi pointed out.

"I see. Well, let me take care of this for you," Mario offered.

Mario took Amy's luggage and loaded it into the Green Marine, then he and Luigi get in. Luigi closed the hatch and Amy climbed on. The Green Marine sank into the water and went through the tunnel.

"Purple to Red!" Waluigi's voice crackled over the Green Marine's communication device. "Purple to Red! Are you there?!"

Mario forgot all about Waluigi. "Oh! Red here. I'm fine."

"Finally! I've been trying to contact you for awhile now. I was wondering if you got into an accident. That would be bad."

"Everything's A-OK. Heck, mission accomplished. I've got Green with me. I'm on my way to the surface right now."

"Really now? Excellent. I'll get the crane ready."

Up on the S.S. Garlic, everyone eagerly waited for the triumphant return of the Green Marine. They weren't so sure that Luigi could possibly come back, but after hearing the good news, they just had to see.

"Are you sure about this?" Wario asked Waluigi.

"I just talked to the guy awhile ago. Have you no faith?"

About ten minutes later, a spot of water near the ship frothed and bubbled, then the submarine, with Amy still clinging to the top, surfaced.

"Look! There it is!" Purpley happily shouted.

"But who is that on it?" Oshi asked, not recognizing Amy.

"Oy... Looks like they managed to pick up a hitch hiker," Wario guessed.

Waluigi went to the controls of the crane and began to operate it. Amy saw it coming and moved out of the way so the crane can grab the Green Marine and set it down on the deck of the S.S. Garlic. When they were safely aboard, Amy hopped off the submarine. The hatch opened and Mario and Luigi poked their heads out.

"Ah! Fresh air!" Luigi breathed a sigh of relief.

Luigi climbed out of the Green Marine and had barely set foot on the deck when Purpley pounced on him. She had him pinned onto his back and rubbed her head on his chest.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Luigi!" she cried. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

Not surprisingly, Luigi blushed. "Hey, take it easy. No need to get all sappy and stuff."

"So how did the Green Marine handle, Mario?" Waluigi asked.

"Pretty well," Mario answered. "I didn't have any major issues."

"Seriously, Purpley," Luigi continued. "I'm fine thanks to Mario and my new friend."

"New...friend?" Purpley questioned and stood up.

"Yeah. It's the princess of Aquapolis. She saved my life. Where did Chicky go anyway?"

Amy was overwhelmed by everything around her. She had never encountered yoshis before or even something as simple as a sunny sky. Luigi spotted her timidly hiding behind the Green Marine.

"Sorry, Luigi," Amy said when Luigi found her. "I'm not used to crowds. You understand, right?"

"Don't worry. Nobody is going to bite you or anything. The yoshis don't even have teeth. C'mon. I'm sure you'll feel better once you guys introduce yourselves."

Luigi extended his hand in a gentlemanly manner. Amy hesitated a moment before she took it. Luigi lead her back to the others.

"Sorry for the delay. folks." Luigi cleared his throat. "Okay, everyone. This is Amy Kay, the princess of Aquapolis. But she prefers to be called Chicky."

"Hi there, Chicky," Pinky greeted. "Nice to meet you."

"Hey, my name's Oshi."

"Hello. I'm Yosheta."

Purpley didn't say anything. She wasn't so sure if she liked the idea of Luigi having a "new friend."

"Whoa," Waluigi laughed. "Nice shirt, Chick. Don't most princesses wear dresses?"

"Don't most people stand up straight?" Amy shot back.

The lanky fellow was stunned by the sudden remark. "Touché."

"Oh, man. You just got burned!" Mario grinned.

"Another mouth to feed?" Wario groaned. "You know, I said you could bring Mario and the yoshis, but not anyone else. Oy..."

"This was a spur the moment thing," Luigi tried to explain. "I didn't even know she was coming along. Look, I'll make sure to cover all the costs, okay?"

"Eh...alright... Let me show you where the bathroom and bedroom are. Right this way, Chick..." He and Amy go to a far end of the deck.

"It feels so good be back," Luigi said after taking a deep breath. "But how did you get the Green Marine, Mario? The only people that know about besides me are Professor E. Gadd and..."

Waluigi hung his head in shame.

"Waluigi? Was this your doing?"

"Yes," Luigi's rival said unhappily. "It was. If you want to Hyper Burn me to a crisp for using it without your permission, I understand. Just get it over with already."

Waluigi waited for Luigi to blast him with the deadly fire attack, but instead Luigi simply shook his hand.

"I must say...I'm rather touched," Luigi said, quite happy about the deed. "I mean, you could've left me in Aquapolis, but you decided not to-"

"Yeah...well..." Waluigi felt a little embarrassed. He wasn't used to getting praise, especially from his rival.

"You're not such a bad guy after all. I'm not gonna say it. However, I will say that Warios are more resourceful than I thought."

"Oh. Heheh. That's cool enough."

In honor of Luigi's return, Waluigi and Mario prepared a special dinner that night; lasagna.

"Don't say anything," Luigi said to Amy when she looked at the food and chuckled.

"Huh? What's that mean?" Wario asked.

"Nothing. Just a bit of an inside joke. By the way, what's our next destination, Wario?"

"I didn't check. I didn't know we were gonna keep going."

"Of course we're gonna keep going! I'm not letting Wart get away with this!"

"Don't you think you're rushing this a bit?" Mario wondered. "You just got back here."

"You should relax for a bit, dear," Pinky added.

"I suppose you guys are right," Luigi said, calming down a bit. "I just can't help but think about the eggs that are still out there somewhere."

"I'm sure you'll get them soon enough," said Amy. "I mean, you got one that was in the ocean. How hard can the rest be?"

Everyone went to bed after dinner. There were no more empty cabins, so Wario assigned Amy to stay in the same one as Luigi and Purpley. Amy didn't mind, but Purpley had other thoughts.

"So, you're Luigi's new friend, huh?" Purpley asked Amy.

"Well, we just met the other day, so I guess," the girl human replied, oblivious to the fact that Purpley didn't fully trust her. "Oh, you're Purpley, aren't you? Luigi told me all about you. He said that you're really affectionate and he enjoys your company."

Purpley backed off. She thought that Amy might try to take Luigi away from her, but now she wasn't so sure.

Luigi felt tired and happy when he laid down. He had three of the seven eggs as well as a new friend traveling with him. The hero quickly fell asleep. He'll need all the rest he can get before he took on the challenge of getting egg number four...


	14. Going for Egg Four

Chapter XIV: Going for Egg Four

Luigi woke up a bit late the next morning. He saw Purpley slept in bed with him and had her head on his chest. Luigi was a little puzzled by this, but he calmly and carefully lifted her head off him and slipped out of bed. He stepped out of the room and noticed a pleasant smell lingering in the air.

"Mmm... Waluigi must be making breakfast." Luigi sniffed the air, just to be sure. "Smells like omelettes. Wait a sec..." He sniffed again. "He didn't-!"

Luigi was wide awake now. He dashed to the kitchen and found Waluigi cooking exactly what he thought; omelettes.

"What are you doing?!" Luigi shouted.

"I'm whipping up some omelettes for breakfast. What did you think I was..." Waluigi's tone changed from confused to annoyed. "Oh, I get it. I can assure you that these are _not_ yoshi eggs! Seriously. How dumb do you think I am? I know better than to cook the eggs you've been looking for."

Luigi didn't believe Waluigi's claim and returned to his room to check on the eggs. All three of them were right there; yellow, white and blue.

"Whoops," Luigi laughed to himself when he realized his mistake. "That's just silly."

Luigi went back to the kitchen and apologized to Waluigi, then he had breakfast.

Afterward, he headed to the helm to have a word with Wario. Mario and Amy were already talking to the captain. Today, Amy was wearing dark blue jeans, black sandals and a green t-shirt with a 1-Up mushroom on it.

"I'm telling you, Wario," Mario griped. "Everyone on that island are morons. You couldn't pay me to set foot there."

"Yeah. I've played Super Mario Sunshine before," Amy chimed in. "It kinda sucked."

"What's up, guys?" Luigi asked when he arrived.

"I think we should look for the next egg on Isle Delfino," said Wario. "But for some funky reason, Mario doesn't want to go there."

"It's not a funky reason! The last time I was there, I was accused of being a terrorist!"

"That's being a bit harsh, don't you think?" Amy commented. "If you're gonna be a wuss about it, you can just stay on the ship."

Mario was really offended now. "Okay," he said, trying to stay calm. "You're a girl, and I try to avoid hitting girls. So I'm ignoring what you just said."

"We're already there anyway," Wario said and pointed toward the island just ahead. "C'mon, Luigi. Let's look for the egg."

The quartet left the helm and met up with the other five friends on the deck. They all got off the S.S. Garlic and walked toward a colorful and busy town.

"Delfino Plaza..." Mario said under his breath. "Just seeing this places gives me the creeps."

"Why?" Pinky asked. "It seems okay to me."

The party entered the town where they were immediately greeted by a blue Pianta. "Welcome to Delf-"

"Shove it!" Mario barked.

"Pardon?"

"Please excuse my brother," Luigi said, feeling a little embarrassed by Mario's outburst. "He's not too thrilled about being here."

"Oh...that's too bad..." the Pianta said dejectedly.

"Hey. You live here, right?" Purpley asked the Pianta. "Have you seen any eggs around here?"

"I haven't seen any. If you lost something, you should check the bulletin board by the police station. Maybe someone already found it."

"Oh. Thanks, I guess."

"The people here look funny," Oshi chuckled. "They have trees on their heads."

"Get used to it," said Mario. "You'll be seeing them a lot. By the way, the station is that way."

Mario lead everyone to the police station where there was a bulletin board nearby. It had all kinds of ads posted on it.

"'Pianta Head Fertilizer,'" Mario read one aloud. "'Bigger leaves or your money back.' Oh, that sounds real useful..."

"'Enjoy a night at fabulous Hotel Delfino,'" Wario quoted. "Forget about it. I've got the S.S. Garlic."

Amy read another ad. "'Third Annual Isle Delfino Fighting Tournament. Top prize: a mysterious egg.' Luigi, I think you better take a look at this one!"

"What's this now? Let's see..." Luigi looked at the ad carefully. "Fighting tourney, egg, 3 miles north of Gelato Beach... Well, that could very well be it."

"This should be easy for you," Waluigi laughed. "Go there, bash a few heads in, get the egg and scram."

"We thought the last one was gonna be easy..." Wario reminded him.

"Is Gelato Beach far from here, Mario?" Luigi asked as he tore the ad off the bulletin board.

"Unfortunately. But we're traveling by boat anyway. It doesn't really matter."

Meanwhile, inside Wart's castle, the fiend sat on his throne and watched Luigi's every move with his crystal ball.

"I must say, Luigi is indeed a worthy foe."

The three-headed snake that Luigi fought in Sarasaland slithered up to Wart.

"Ah, Tryclyde. Just the person I wanted to see."

"What ssshall we do to him, massster?" said the middle head.

"Roassst him..." the right head hissed.

"Sssqueeze him..." the left head sneered.

"Nothing at the moment, my friend," Wart said calmly. "I'll be using a different approach and bide my time."

"Very well, massster," the middle head replied. "We'll be waiting for ordersss, yesss."

Back aboard the S.S. Garlic, Luigi couldn't help but look at the ad yet again. "What kind of tournament gives away an egg for a prize anyway?"

"A tournament run by idiots?" Mario shrugged. "They were probably just too stupid and lazy to get a real prize like a trophy or something."

"Wow. You really hate Piantas, don't you?" Amy noticed.

"So what are you gonna do, Luigi?" Purpley asked her hero.

"Waluigi gave us the gist of it already," Luigi answered. "All I gotta do is beat up a few people. If they're as dumb and lazy as Mario claims, this should be a piece of cake."

"Whatever! Let's steal that thing!" Mario blurted out.

Everyone stared at Mario. Such a rash comment seemed to be very out of character for him.

"What? Can't I be a jerk once in awhile? Sorry, but this place is bringing out my bad side."

"You have a bad side?" Wario joked.

"If this keeps up, you'll be crankier than Waluigi," Luigi pointed out.

"Hey! That's not cool, Luigi!" Waluigi barked. "Not cool at all!"

When the S.S. Garlic landed at Gelato Beach, everyone got off and hiked along the trail that lead to where the next egg is located. Some of the party members were enjoying the scenery, but some others weren't...

"It's so pretty here," said Yosheta. "The flowers are really neat."

"Does anyone has some sunglasses I can use?" Amy asked. "I'm not used to bright sunlight yet."

"This place is so cute and happy it makes me want to puke," Wario gagged.

"I hate it here," Mario muttered. "I hate it here. I hate it here. I hate it here..."

Pinky really didn't understand why Mario is acting this way. "Why do you hate it here? It still seems nice to me."

"Yeah. I thought you were more mature than this," said Luigi. "Is a nice, quiet walk too much to ask for?"

At the end of the road was a large building. Luigi looked at the ad for a fourth time.

"Ciao Stadium. This must be the place. It sorta looks like the Roman Colosseum."

"Oh yeeeah..." Mario pondered. "Okay. I guess I'll give Isle Delfino one point for that."

Luigi and company entered the building and were greeted by an elderly dark red Noki.

"Welcome," said the Noki. "I am Boone. I assume that you're here for the tournament."

Mario wasted no time. "Let's get this over with. Sign this guy up! Right now!"

"_That_ guy?" Boone looked at Waluigi by mistake. "He doesn't look like much of a fighter. Much too skinny..."

"Not me, you idiot!" Waluigi protested. "Him! With the green hat!"

"Hmm..." Boone looked at Luigi as well. "He doesn't look like much either. There's only one available spot left for the tournament and I want to make sure it goes to someone that deserves it-"

Luigi raised a fist. "Oh yeah?! You want to make something of it?"

"Well, now. They do say that good things come in small packages." Boone took a closer look at Luigi. "Hmm... Those legs look pretty strong. I suppose you'll do. Very well then."

"So I get to fight?"

"Yes. Of course. Just tell me your name and I'll sign you right up."

"The name's Luigi," the green-clad fighter said confidently.

Boone wrote it down. "Luigi, you say? You know, I've always been fond of that name. There we go. You're all set. The first match is in three hours. You'll be fighting a fellow by the name of Kody. Come back here about 20 minutes before then."

"No problem. I can handle that."

"So where to now?" Oshi asked as everyone left the stadium and head back to Gelato Beach.

Wario flipped through the pages of _The World of Plit_. "Maybe there's something in here."

Yosheta looked over his shoulder. "See anything that might be fun?"

"Hey, Mario. You never told us that this place has an amusement park!" Wario pointed it out in the book.

"Oh...well..." Mario scratched his ear. "I kinda forgot about it. To be honest, it's not too bad. As long as everything is operating right."

"What's an a-moose-ment park?" Purpley asked.

"It's a place with lots of stuff to ride on," said Luigi. "If you're anything like Waluigi, you'll probably throw up too."

Waluigi growled at Luigi, but said nothing.

"We've got plenty of time to kill," said Amy. "Why not have a look around?"

Everyone decided to check out the amusement park. When they returned to Gelato Beach, they got on the S.S. Garlic and went to Pinna Island, located off the south-western shore of Isle Delfino.

"Here it is, guys. Pinna Park," Mario said when they arrived at the gate. Try not to wander off now, okay?"

"I'm not so sure if I should be going on rides," Luigi frowned. "Not before I have to do some fighting."

"You should at least give the ferris wheel a try. The view is pretty nice."

"Well, I suppose I see no harm in that."

While the brothers chatted, the yoshis noticed the yoshi-go-round ride and ran up to it.

"Wow! There's other yoshis!" Pinky exclaimed.

"Hi there!" Purpley smiled at another purple yoshi. Of course, none of the yoshis on the ride were real and did nothing.

"And everyone said that _I'm_ shy," Yosheta mused.

"Cool! There's a new yoshi color!" a Noki kid shouted as he jumped onto Yosheta's back. "Giddiyup!"

"Hey! Get off her!" Oshi barked, protecting his friend as usual.

The young Noki screamed as they got off and ran to their mom.

Mario saw the whole thing and laughed heartily. Even Luigi thought the scene was funny and tried to hold back his laughter.

"Sorry, guys. Those yoshis aren't real," Mario tried to explain.

Pinky was really confused. "They're not?"

"Nope! They're fake, see?" Luigi poked one of them in the eye, yet it continued to stare straight ahead.

"C'mon. Luigi and I gonna ride the ferris wheel."

Mario, Luigi and the yoshis went to the ferris wheel and got a ride. As the cart they were in rose into the air, Luigi gazed toward Isle Delfino and spotted Ciao Stadium where he would fight for the fourth egg...


	15. Round One!

Chapter XV: Round One!

After having some fun at Pinna Park, Luigi and friends returned to Ciao Stadium where the next egg was. All Luigi had to do to get it is win the fighting tournament.

"I'm a little nervous about this," Luigi admitted. "I mean, if I lose just one match...well..."

Pinky pat Luigi on the back. "Just relax and do your best, dear."

Boone greeted the party when they entered the stadium. "Ah, excellent. Luigi, go down the hallway to your left. The fellow down there will get you ready for your first match.

"Okay then," said Luigi. "I'll see you guys later."

"The rest of you can go through here and watch," Boone continued. "I've arranged it so you have front row seats. Enjoy!"

After looking for the seats that were reserved for them, Luigi's friends sat down and watched the tail end of a match between a Pianta and a Noki.

"Boooring..." Mario yawned.

Wario wasn't impressed with the show either. "What a couple of wimps!"

"Bring out Luigi!" Oshi shouted.

Pinky was a little embarrassed by how everyone was acting. "Settle down, you guys."

After the little Noki was defeated by the much bigger Pianta, Boone, who now held a microphone, stepped onto the stage.

"Wow! That was a great match, wasn't it folks? We probably won't see another like that in a coon's age!"

"Heheh," Waluigi snickered. "This guy has no idea what's coming."

"Alright then," Boone continued. "For those of you that just joined us, the top prize for this year's tournament is this mysterious egg found near Noki Bay!" Boone held up an egg with red spots so the crowd can see it.

"Ah. It's only Redy this time," Purpley said with little feeling.

"What do you mean it's _just_ Redy?" Pinky protested.

"Well, it's not like he's one of our mates or anything. It's no big deal if Luigi loses, right?"

Pinky was very upset with her fellow yoshi. "How can you say that?!"

"Onto the next match! Coming out of the blue gate is a semi-finalist in the Second Annual Isle Delfino Fighting Tournament...KODY!"

"Hee yuk yuk yuk!" a dark blue Pianta laughed as he strutted out of the gate and waved to the crowd.

"And coming out of the red gate is a newcomer with some mean-looking legs...LUIGI!"

"I didn't realize there would be so many people here," Luigi thought as he nervously walked out of the red gate. "No, Luigi! Focus!"

Luigi and Kody step onto the stage and Boone rang a nearby gong.

"Annnd...fight!"

"Your name is Luigi?" Kody asked. "Wow. It sure sounds funny. Hee yuk yuk yuk!"

Luigi was now angry instead of nervous. "That's it. You're going down. Right now. Heeeee!"

Luigi jumped toward Kody and tried to perform a karate chop, but Kody managed to grab him out of the air before he could land the attack and hurled him skyward!

"Mama mia!" Mario exclaimed. "This could be trouble. He's a chuckster!"

"What's a chuckster?" Oshi asked.

"A chuckster is a Pianta that can throw people. They can be a real pain in the butt."

Luigi fell flat on his face. Before he had a chance to recover, Kody picked him up and threw him straight into the ground.

"Ooo..." Amy cringed. "That looked like it hurt."

"He'll be fine," Waluigi assured her. "He's got a hard head,"

"How's that floor taste?" Kody teased. "Hee yuk yuk yuk!"

Luigi got up and gave Kody the evil eye. "A thrower, huh? I've got ways of dealing with people like you! C'mere and try that again!"

Kody ran toward Luigi, but the hero stood his ground and charged up his Thunderhand. Kody made the mistake of running right into it, resulting in quite the shock.

"Boy, those are some nice fireworks you've got there! Hee yuk yuk yuk!"

"If you want fireworks, I'll give you some fireworks!"

Luigi raced toward Kody with his Pyro Kick, a blazingly fast attack with decent power. This caught Kody by surprise and before he realized what happened, Luigi charged up a Hyper Burn...

"Yes!" Purpley shouted. "I was waiting for this!"

Luigi blasted Kody with the powerful flames, leaving the poor Pianta thoroughly scorched.

"Uh...hee...yuk... Kody uttered as he fainted.

Boone banged the gong again. "Whoo! That was really amazing! Luigi wins!"

Luigi was so enraged that he completely forgot about the tournament. He got his act back together and modestly waved to the cheering crowd.

"That was very impressive," Boone said to Luigi when he returned to the lobby.

"Heh heh. Grazie."

"If you keep that up, you'll be unstoppable. I think you're a real contender. Anyway, your next match is against Gaston. Come back here in two hours."

"Sure thing," Luigi winked. "Well, there's my friends. See you later."

Luigi and his friends left Ciao Staduim and walked back to Gelato Beach.

"Holy crap," said an awe-struck Amy. "I didn't know you had that kind of firepower!"

Purpley laughed. "He's so strong, but he doesn't even brag about it!"

"I knew Kody didn't stand a chance,' Mario chuckled.

"I guess it was pretty easy," Luigi admitted. "Okay. I was surprised when he threw me, but I should've kept my guard up."

"I'm sure you'll get the egg," Purpley chimed in. "No problem."

Nobody was aware of it, but Wart and Mouser were in the area...

"So the egg is a prize in a fighting tournament," Wart pondered. "Most interesting."

"Should I go take him out right now, master?" Mouser asked.

"Not here, my friend. You'll fight him in the stadium while Tryclyde and I do business elsewhere."

"How do I do that? Barge in there, beat the snot out of one of the other fighters and take their place?"

"Yes. That should do nicely."

"I can do that. I will not fail you, master." Mouser ran toward the stadium.

"Even if Mouser is defeated, the trap Tryclyde and I set will get Luigi for sure..."

When everyone returned to the S.S. Garlic, they ate lunch and relaxed for awhile.

"I think it's about time to go back," Luigi said when the time for his next match drew near.

"Wanna take the Green Fire for a spin?" Mario offered.

"Excuse me?"

"It's a little tiring having to go back and forth between here and the stadium. Especially for you since you're the one fighting. C'mon. I'll happily drive."

"Sure. You've got a point there."

Mario and Luigi looked around for the kart garage where the Green Fire was held. After they found it, Mario hopped into the driver's seat and Luigi sat on the back. The trip to Ciao Stadium was much shorter when using a vehicle instead of walking.

"I'm gonna go back and get bring Purpley here so she can watch," Mario said when they reached their destination.

"Okay, but try to get Wario's help too," Luigi replied. "I'm sure Chicky will want to see this."

"I'll see what I can do. See you in a bit!" Mario revved the Green Fire's engine and took off.

Luigi went inside the stadium and prepared for the next match. He arrived early, so he had plenty of time.

"Onto the next match!" Boone announced when the time came. "Coming out of the blue gate is a newcomer that's sure to heat up the action...LUIGI!"

Luigi confidently strutted out of the gate and looked at the crowd for Mario. He spotted him, Waluigi, Purpley and Amy in the front row and winked at them.

"And coming out of the red gate is another newcomer, but he looks like he's got a mean streak a mile long...GASTON!"

For some reason, nobody came out of the red gate. The cheering crowd suddenly became oddly silent.

"Where in Star Hill is Gaston?!"

A certain shade-wearing mouse came out of the gate. This was certainly not who it was supposed to be.

"Hey! You're not-" Boone tried to protest.

Mouser threw a bomb at the surprised Noki and blew him right off the stage!

"So!" Luigi growled. "Wart sent one of his goons to sabotage the tournament, huh?"

"So what?" Mouser sneered. "I decided to make things a little more interesting. Wanna make something of it?"

"You bet I do!"

Mouser pulled out a bomb that was even bigger than the last one. Using quick reflexes, Luigi threw a fireball at it before Mouser had the chance to throw it. The bomb detonated in his face for an instant knock out!

"That had to hurt," Purpley laughed.

"Hmm..." Mario thought to himself. "That guy looks a bit familiar."

Boone climbed back onto the stage and saw the fainted Mouser.

"Well...?" Luigi shrugged.

"Gaston never showed up," Boone said in confusion. "But you beat that guy. And pretty fast too. But you never laid a finger on Gaston." Boone paused to think. "Unless we can find Gaston, Luigi goes to the next round!"

Luigi looked at the cheering crowd. He was happy that he can continue with the tournament, but something just doesn't seem right about this. He thought about it as he went back to the lobby to speak with Boone.

"I honestly have no idea what happened there," Boone told him. "But I don't have much of a choice. You advance to the next round. Return here in an hour and a half."

"I guess I can't argue about that. C'mon, guys. Let's go."

Luigi and his friends went outside. Luigi and Mario got on the Green Fire while the other three rode the larger Wario Car.

"I might be going crazy," Mario said as he drove. "I think I've seen that mouse before."

"It's the same one I dealt with back in Sherbet Land," Luigi remarked.

"No. I mean I've seen him myself before. I think we both fought him together a long time ago."

"When was that? Any idea?"

"I'm afraid not. I could refresh my memory if I had the Plumber's Log with me. But I don't, of course."

When everyone returned to the S.S. Garlic, Oshi asked his hero how progress was going. "How did it go?"

"I'm going to the next round," Luigi replied. "Even though things didn't quite go like I thought they would."

"I'm thirsty," said Mario. "I'm going to the surf cabana for a smoothie."

"I could go for one myself right about now."

Luigi followed Mario down the wide beach to the surf cabana where they ordered two watermelon smoothies. They picked out a small table with a radio to sit down at and enjoy their drinks.

"This is pretty good stuff, huh?" Mario sighed happily.

"I thought you hated everything about this place," Luigi pointed out.

"Well, I guess that's not quite true after all. I like the smoothies here and Pinna Park was fun, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. The yoshi-go-round was darn funny."

"Also, I think it's neat how Ciao Stadium looks like the Roman Colosseum. Nothing like a little Italian culture."

Suddenly, the laid-back conversation was interrupted by a message on the radio.

"A frog-like thing and a three-head snake have been spotted near Hotel Delfino a moment ago..."

Luigi gagged on his drink when he heard this news.

"Luigi!" Mario shouted and got up to assist him. "Are you okay?!"

"I should've known Wart was prowling around here!"

"What are we gonna do?"

"We better take a look at this. He must be up to something."

Luigi and Mario ran toward the S.S. Garlic. They did not realize that it would've been better if they stayed far away from Hotel Delfino...


	16. Delfino Inferno

Chapter XVI: Delfino Inferno

On a hill near Sirena Beach, Wart and Tryclyde gazed at the luxurious Hotel Delfino at a distence.

"Ssso, massster..." Tryclyde's middle head spoke. "What are we doing here inssstead of fighting Luigi in the ssstadium with Moussser?"

"He would expect that, my friend," Wart said calmly. "I'm using an indirect approach this time."

"How isss that?" the right head questioned.

"First of all, heroes are imbeciles. They're always risking their necks to help others. They do it even if there is no reward for them at all."

The middle head nodded. "I think I sssee now..."

"Yesss... You plan on making Luigi take himssself out," the left head hissed.

"Ssso we're at thisss hotel to-"

"Correct. Fire at will," Wart demanded.

Meanwhile, the S.S. Garlic was sailing toward where the trouble would soon begin. Luigi and company were discussing things in the kitchen. Mario was usually eager to head straight into action, but he was having some doubts right now...

"I'm not so sure if we should be doing this, Luigi. Wart whipped us pretty badly last time."

"Huh? That's not like you, Mario," Luigi scoffed.

"I could say the same about you."

"Looks like you two somehow managed to get your personalities switched," Amy observed.

Waluigi laughed. "You got that right. Usually Luigi is really wimpy-" Waluigi noticed the dirty look he was getting from Luigi and quit talking.

"What I'm trying to say is that we're just asking for another beating," said Mario. "That's the last thing you need since you have the fighting tournament to worry about."

"I guess you're right, but dang it!" Luigi slammed the table with his fist. "I gotta do something!"

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Purpley offered.

"Of course I need all the help I can get, but I also need to have you guys stay put."

"But I wanna help you beat that big bully!" Oshi shouted eagerly.

"Absolutely not! I'm sorry, but I can't let anything happen to you!"

"Don't worry. I understand," said Pinky. "Please be careful out there."

Wario barged into the kitchen. "Houston, we have a problem!"

"What is it now?" Luigi asked.

"They call this place Sirena Beach, right? Well, it sure doesn't look serene right now!"

Luigi and Mario ran out of the kitchen and saw what the problem was right away.

"Sweet merciful crap!" Luigi screamed in horror. "The hotel is on fire!"

"Mama mia..." Mario groaned. "Why didn't we see this coming?"

"I better see what happened here..."

As soon as the ship reached the shore, Luigi got off and ran toward the chaotic scene. He was followed by Mario, Wario, Waluigi and Amy. Piantas and Nokis fled from the burning hotel as the owner of the place, a brown Pianta, barked out orders.

"Did everyone get out?!" the hotel owner yelled.

"What's going on? Who did this?" Luigi asked him.

"Some three-headed snake did this!" the brown Pianta scowled. "There was a fat frog with him too! Who do they think they are, torching my beautiful hotel like this?!"

"Wart! Just as I thought!"

"Why the heck did he do this though?" Mario shrugged. "It's not like you were even here."

"My kids!" a pink female Pianta shouted as she ran toward the group. "My kids are still in there!"

"Calm down, lady," the hotel owner said. "I'm sure help is on the way."

"Help! I can't find my kids either!" a purple female Noki screamed.

Luigi gazed at the burning building. "I bet Wart did this because of me..."

Mario noticed the fire reflected in his brother's eyes. "Luigi... Don't do it..."

"It's my fault the place is on fire," Luigi said grimly. "The least I can do is get the kids out. Don't you dare stop me!"

"Luigi! No!"

It was no use. Luigi already ran into the blazing inferno.

"Don't worry, Mario," said Amy. "I'm sure he knows what he's doing. You need to trust him."

"He's nuts!" Wario exclaimed.

"Go Luigi!" Waluigi cheered.

Wario was baffled. "Uh...Waluigi?"

"Is it a crime for me to root for the good guy once in awhile?" Waluigi blushed slightly.

"Excuse me, but is that guy a famous hero or something?" the owner of the hotel asked Luigi's friends.

"You bet!" Amy boasted.

Inside the burning building, Luigi crawled on the floor as he frantically searched for the missing children.

"Those kids have to be around here somewhere..." Luigi thought.

Luigi heard a scream come from the next floor up. Luigi followed the sound up to the second floor. There was another scream, this time coming from behind a nearby door. Unfortunately the door was on fire. This did not stop Luigi, however. He pulled out his hammer and broke the door down with a few swift swings. Inside the room within, Luigi found two Pianta kids and two Noki kids. The Nokis had withdrawn into their shells and the Piantas hid behind them.

"Ah! There you are! I'm gonna get all of you out of here!"

Outside, everyone looked on in silence and hoped that Luigi and the children could get out safely. The yoshis, disobeying Luigi's request, left the ship to see what was going on.

"Where's Luigi?" Purpley asked.

"Hey!" Wario barked. "Luigi told you guys not to leave the ship!"  
"I don't care!" Oshi yelled. "I'm saving Luigi!"

"Not if I can help it!" Waluigi pulled on Oshi's tail to keep him from running off. "He doesn't need anyone else to get in trouble."

"Where is that dang FLUDD when I need it?" Mario muttered. "Wait. I guess there's the other option."

"Huh? Where are you going, Mario?" Pinky asked when she saw Mario run down the beach. She chased after him.

Amy also noticed Mario running away. "What the heck?! Mario just abandoned his brother!"

Although that seemed to be the case, it actually wasn't. Mario soon returned, but he now had two pink yoshis with him.

"M-Mommy?" Yosheta was confused by the sight of what seemed to be two Pinkys.

"See the fire?" Mario said to one of the pink yoshis. "Put it out!"

The pink yoshi nodded, then began to squirt fruit juice at the building. The other yoshis were repulsed by the sight.

This was a different type of yoshi than the ones in Luigi's herd. Although Delfinian yoshis lacked the egg-laying and throwing abilities that yoshis are known for, they had the unique talent of being able to shoot fruit juice out of their mouths. Mario was putting this to good use by having it douse the fire with juice.

"It isn't pretty, but it will do," said Mario.

Inside the hotel, Luigi and the kids desperately tried to find a way out and got to the third floor. Eventually, they were able to find a window.

"Hang on!" Luigi cried. "I'm gonna crack this thing open and we're outta here!"

Luigi pulled out his hammer and was about to smash the window with it. Instead, a stream of pink juice shot through the window, seemingly smashing it open for him.

"Never mind! Let's go!" Luigi picked up one of the Piantas and held it out the window. "Don't look down!" Luigi called as he tried to drop it as lightly as he could.

The roof of the hotel was starting to cave in. Chunks were dropping off and landing dangerously close to Luigi and the kids!

"Crap! We gotta hurry!"

Luigi picked up the other Pianta and dropped it out the window. One of the Nokis was in its shell while the other wasn't. Luigi lifted the one that was hiding. It quickly poked its head out just long enough to bite Luigi's hand.

"Ow! You little-!" Luigi winced.

Luigi nearly threw that one out the window. He was a little upset about what it did to him. The other Noki was better mannered and gave Luigi no trouble. Now that all the children were outside, the only one left was Luigi. He prepared to hurl himself through the window, but a flaming piece of debris fell from the ceiling and landed on top of Luigi's left foot. The sudden shot of heat and pain caused Luigi to panic and topple right out the window...

"Oh, Luigi... Is he okay?" Purpley said after the chaos was over.

Luigi was knocked out when he fell out of the third story window. He was just beginning to wake up. "What happened...?"

"Looks like he's coming around," Wario pointed out. "The tough little bugger."

Luigi slowly opened his eyes and saw that he was back in his room on the S.S. Garlic. All of his party members were there to see if he was doing okay. Actually, one of them was clearly missing and in his place was a gray Pianta who was a doctor.

"Is he going to be okay, doc?" Amy asked the Pianta. "Please tell me he's okay."

"Well, the poor feller is banged up a little bit," said Dr. Pianta. "He sustained a few minor burns too."

"But he'll be okay, right?"

"Not quite. His left foot got crushed. I reckon he won't be able to walk on it for, oh, a few days."

"Oh no..." Purpley sobbed

"That's what I was afraid of," Amy said with a sigh.

"I must be going now. Take care of yourselves." The doctor turned and left.

"What's...going on?" Luigi struggled to speak. "Where's...Mario..."

"He took the Green Fire and drove to Ciao Stadium so he could tell Boone what happened," Wario answered. "He'll probably be back in awhile."

"That was cool, Luigi!" Waluigi hooted with laughter. "You just cheated death!"

"I'll say. How many lives do you have left?"

"Was that...my fifth one?" Luigi tried to joke despite the pain he was in. "Eh...I'll say it was my third..."

"Luigi..." Purpley whimpered. "You're hurt... What are we gonna do now?"

"Why did you do it, Luigi?" Pinky asked.

"I had to. The fire was...my fault. I can't let those kids die...because of me..."

"Heh. The way of the hero," Wario scoffed. "This is why I choose to stay neutral. So I don't do dumb things like that and regret it."

"I regret nothing. Besides...whatever fails to kill me...can only make me stronger."

"Well, I stand thoroughly corrected."

"Those kids...are the kids okay?"

"One of them was really spooked, but otherwise they all got out just fine," Amy confirmed.

"Good. At least Wart didn't hurt...any innocent people. Just thinking about that guy...makes my blood boil!"

Luigi sat up and raised both fists in anger, but then he groaned and fell back onto his pillow.

"Take it easy!" Yosheta warned him.

"Save your strength," Pinky said quietly as she pat Luigi on the head. "I don't think Mario would want to see you like this."

"You're right. I better relax...until he gets back..."


	17. Going Wild

Chapter XVII: Going Wild

"Hi, everyone! Did you miss me?" Mario announced when he returned from Ciao Stadium. "How is Luigi doing?"

"He's sleeping in his room," said Pinky.

"I see. I don't want to wake him up, but I really need to tell him something."

Mario went into Luigi's cabin quietly. He was about to lightly shake him, but he stopped himself. He didn't want to take any chances and accidentally touch one of Luigi's burns. Instead, he just sat patiently until Luigi woke up.

"Murgh..."

"Hey there, you little daredevil," Mario greeted him. "I can't believe you did that."

"Hey, Mario..." Luigi said groggily.

"Well, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is I was able to get Boone to postpone the entire tournament. The owner of Hotel Delfino and I told him about what happened."

"And the bad news...?"

"The delay will only be in effect for today and tomorrow."

"Crud. I'm as good as out. I don't think my foot will be okay by then."

"Let's talk about this over dinner. I imagine you're pretty hungry right now."

"Yeah. I suppose."

Mario was about to walk out the door, but stopped. "Oh, looks like you need some help getting to the kitchen. I'll go grab one of the yoshis."

"Don't worry. I've already got it figured out." Luigi got out his hammer and cleverly used it as a crutch.

"Heheh. I see you're as resourceful as ever. Okay then. Let's go."

Mario and Luigi went into the kitchen and saw that Waluigi served everyone TV dinners.

"Sorry about dinner," Waluigi apologized. "I know it's not very good."

"What are these little green things?" Yosheta asked as she curiously poked the food.

"Oy... They're called peas," Wario grumped.

Luigi looked at his dinner and sighed. He was too worried about things and didn't have much of an appetite right now.

"You'd better eat something," Pinky warned him.

"What am I gonna do?" Luigi said sadly. "There's no way I can fight with my foot like this."

"You know, Luigi," Waluigi piped up. "You wouldn't have that problem if you could get around on all fours like a bunny or something."

Everyone quieted down and ate their dinner. Luigi pondered about what Waluigi said. Although it sounded silly, Luigi also found it rather interesting.

"If I could move around like a bunny..." Luigi thought aloud. "Or maybe...a monkey... That's it! Waluigi, this is a great idea!"

Waluigi didn't know what Luigi meant by that. "Eh?"

Luigi pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "C'mon, buddy. Pick up. Ah, hey there!"

"Hey there, Luigi dude," D.K. said on the other end. "How's the adventure going?"

"Not too good right now. Listen. I need a little help..." Luigi explained the situation to his gorilla friend.

"Wow. You've really got yourself in a jam. If you really think there is a way I can help you, come on over. I'll see what I can do."

"Grazie. I owe you one."

"No prob. See you later, dude."

"What do you have in mind?" Mario asked after Luigi ended the call.

"To make a long story short, I'll do some training with D.K.," Luigi said before turning toward Wario. "I know this is going to sound odd, but I need to go back to Kong Isle."

"Aye," was all Wario said.

"I better go back to bed now. I'm sure I'll need all the rest I can get. I sure hope this works..."

Luigi slept through the entire night with no problems. When Luigi woke up the next morning, he saw that Purpley was gone and Amy was working on a drawing using the art set she brought from home. Today she wore medium-blue jeans, white sandals and a tie-dye shirt. This shirt was not the same one she wore the other day though. It was a different tie-dye shirt.

Luigi completely forgot about what happened yesterday and tried to walk normally. Amy heard something and looked up from her artwork. Luigi was sitting on the bed while holding his injured foot. He also had an intense expression on his face.

"Just let it out, Luigi."

"What...?" Luigi grimaced.

"Don't hold it back. You'll feel better if you let it out."

"But-!"

"Just get it out already!"

Luigi could use the pain relief, but he also didn't want to offend anyone. So he cursed in Italian.

"Oh mio dio!" he began. This was followed by a minute or two of other colorful exclamations.

Amy couldn't help but laugh. She wasn't trying to laugh at Luigi, but the Italian phrases sounded funny to her, even if she had no idea what they meant.

"Feel better now?"

"A bit..." Luigi panted.

Mario came into the cabin without even knocking first. "Luigi! What was that? You don't use words like that!"

Amy stood up for Luigi. "It's okay. He hurt his foot and I told him to go all out."

"I see. Well, please try to keep it clean next time, Luigi."

Luigi used his hammer as a crutch again and he hobbled onto the deck.

"Oh, wow," he said when he noticed that the S.S. Garlic was already at Kong Isle. "Wario sure knows how to do his job. Guess I better get started."

Luigi, along with Amy and Purpley, got off the ship and looked around for D.K. They easily found him at his tree house.

"Good to see you again, good buddy," the primate greeted them. "You're here early. Did you even have breakfast yet?"

"Actually, I haven't," Luigi answered.

"Good. As part of your training, you'll be eating nothing but bananas."

Luigi just gave D.K. a quizzical look.

"What? A little potassium never hurt anyone, right?" D.K. gave Luigi, Purpley and Amy each a bunch of bananas. "Here you go. Here's some you two as well. Hey, you look pretty good, Daisy. Have you lost weight?"

"Excuse me?" Amy said politely.

"That's not Daisy," Luigi explained. "That's Chicky. She helped me get the egg that Wart stole from you."

"Cool. I bet Funky would really dig that shirt," D.K. laughed. "Anyway, I told Diddy and Dixie about your problem and they agreed to help you too. They'll be here in awhile. With the three of us training you, this is sure to work."

"Well, here goes nothing. What do I do first?"

"First, you ditch that hammer and get down like this."

"Whoa!" Luigi said in surprise when D.K. grabbed his hammer and tossed it aside, then shoved him to the ground.

"Whoops. Sorry about that," D.K. quickly apologized. "Okay. Now what you do is shift most of your weight onto your good foot and arch your back like this."

Luigi tried to imitate D.K.'s example. "Like this?

"That looks about right. But shouldn't the bad foot be in a cast or something?"

"You'd think so..." Luigi muttered.

"Hey, girls," D.K. said to Purpley and Amy. "Why don't you chill out in my tree house? This will take awhile."

"I wanna watch Luigi," said Purpley.

"Me too," Amy agreed. "This looks interesting."

"Well, I guess it can't hurt if you stick around then. Make yourselves comfortable."

Amy was about to sit down in the shade of a nearby tree when Purpley dashed in and took the spot. Purpley was still being a bit territorial over Luigi and didn't completely trust her. Amy simply shrugged and relaxed at the edge of a pond instead.

"So anyway, I just kinda hop forward...like this?" Luigi asked, making sure that he was getting the technique right.

"That might do the trick."

Luigi continued with the training. Of course, gorillas are perfectly suited to walking on all fours. Humans, on the other hand, are not. Unfortunately, Luigi would often stumble and fall on his face, but D.K. would help him get up and urged him to try again.

"Poor Luigi..." the yoshi sighed as she watched.

Eventually, Diddy and Dixie showed up at the scene to assist Luigi with the training.

"Who are you?" Dixie asked Amy. "Nice ponytail."

"Thanks. My name is Amy, but just call me Chicky."

"Nice to meet you, Chicky. Can you do any tricks with your ponytail?"

"Nope. I can use it to charm the pants off people though." Amy added "When I say people, I mean Luigi."

Dixie giggled at Amy's little joke.

"C'mon now, Luigi," D.K. said after Luigi fell again. "Are you even trying anymore?"

"Of course I'm trying, you big lug!" Luigi cried, his eyes filled with tears. "I need a miracle..."

"What you need is more upper body strength. Having self-confidence helps too. Say, doesn't Mario tell you that a lot?"

Diddy sat on a branch of the tree that Purpley was under and carefully watched Luigi. "I might know what the problem is," he said. "Give it another try, Luigi."

Luigi shrugged and tried to run again. Just like before, he fell on his face after awhile.

"Huh. I may need a minute to think about this," Diddy mused.

When it was almost lunchtime, Mario and the other yoshis came to watch Luigi train.

"Wow. That looks hard," Mario noted when he saw Luigi. "I can't help but be proud of him for trying though."

Diddy snapped his fingers. "Aha! It's so simple!"

"It is?" Luigi panted. "What am I doing wrong?"

"The problem isn't you. It's your outfit. It's restricting your movement. It probably gets hot in that too. I think you should try wearing a t-shirt and shorts. Might want to get rid of the shoes t-"

"What?!" Luigi protested. "I refuse to give up my Jeaniest Jeans! I had to practically turn the Beanbean Kingdom upside-down to find a pair!"

"Settle down, Luigi," said Mario. "I've got just the thing for you."

Luigi collapsed to the ground. He was exhausted and could really use a rest.

"Aww..." Pinky pat Luigi on the back. "You look so tired, dear."

"You better take five, little buddy."

"It's in here somewhere," Mario grinned as he looked through the items in his back pack. "Ah. Here it is."

"What do you have there, Mario?" Yosheta asked.

Mario removed some clothing from his back pack and presented it to Luigi. "Your strikers uniform."

Luigi's eyes lit up when he saw the snazzy green and blue outfit that he wore during soccer matches. "I don't know what made you decide to bring this, but..."

"Well, I was thinking-"

Luigi took the outfit and looked for a place to put it on without being seen. He picked out a bush and jumped behind it. When he came back out, the yoshis were surprised by how different he looked. They have only seen in him his green shirt and blue overalls, so this was quite a change.

"I feel faster already!" Luigi beamed.

"Is that you, Luigi?" Purpley asked. "You look good."

"Wow! That's cool!" Oshi exclaimed.

"Oh, man..." Amy flopped onto the ground and twitched a lot.

Dixie was confused by the Luigi fan. "Does she usually do that?"

"I don't know," said Mario. "I don't think the blood coming from her nose is normal..."

"Yeah. That's the stuff," said Diddy. "You should have no problem now."

Everyone ate some lunch and relaxed for awhile. Afterward, Luigi continued with his training. He's improved significantly since he swapped outfits. He still fell down occasionally, but not nearly as often as he did before.

"That's it! You're doing it!" D.K. cheered.

"I may win a few battles, but I'm gonna ruin my back," Luigi grunted. "Speaking of that, how am I supposed to attack?"

"Well, you should still be able to do any attacks that use only one hand. Punching, slapping, maybe throwing a fireball..."

"I need more than that."

"You can always bite."

"There's probably a rule against that."

"You can do what I do and roll!"

"Ah, that's more like it. Teach me that one."

Mario went back to the S.S. Garlic for a moment to put away Luigi's original shirt and overalls. When he returned and saw Luigi and D.K. rolling around, he didn't know what to say.

"Whoaaa... I think I'm gonna be sick," Luigi groaned. "I better stop it for awhile."

"The good news is you probably won't be rolling that much," D.K. nodded. "It looks like you've got it down though. Want me to teach you anything else?"

"Nah. I think I got the gist of it now."

"Are you sure? How about climbing or maybe some vine-swinging? Either of them will really help out your arms."

Luigi politely declined the offer. "Perhaps some other time. I gotta get going now. Grazie."

"Any time, good buddy."

Luigi and his friends thanked and said good-bye to the Kongs, then they went to the S.S. Garlic.

"Hey. How is Luigi's training going?" Waluigi asked when they arrived.

"Why don't you ask me yourself?" said Luigi. "I'm down here!"

Of course, Waluigi was a very tall person and now that Luigi walked on all fours, it was hard for Waluigi to see him.

"Whoops. Sorry about that. I didn't even know you were there."

"As you can probably tell, I'm done training and ready to roll out."

That night, Waluigi whipped up some cheeseburgers for dinner. Everyone came to the kitchen to eat, except...

"Where's Luigi?" Waluigi asked. "I figured he'd be really hungry."

"The poor dear was tuckered out so he went to bed early," said Pinky.

"You really can't blame the guy though," Amy added. "He worked so hard today."

"Oy... That's probably not good," Wario yawned.

Mario disagreed. "Actually, I think he'll sleep well tonight."

During this time, Wart was as angry as ever as he watched Luigi with his crystal ball in his castle.

"You look really cheesed off, master," Mouser said meekly as he approached.

"I do not understand this," Wart growled. "I exploited the weakness that all heroes possess and yet he continues to fight."

"What will you do now?"

Wart calmed down slightly. "Patience, my friend. For now, I will simply observe him and figure out what his true weakness is."

"As you wish."

"I must commend him though." Wart tightened his grip on the crystal ball. "He is a tough one, that Luigi..."


	18. Continuing the Fight

Chapter XVIII: Continuing the Fight

After getting some special training from D.K. and a different outfit from Mario, Luigi was ready to return to Isle Delfino and continue his fight for the red yoshi egg. Luigi woke up the next morning, but even though he slept through the entire night, he still looked a little irritable.

Amy sat in the chair inside the room. Today she wore a green "Team Luigi" shirt, light-blue jeans and white shoes with blue stars on them. Right now, she appeared to be writing something on a piece of paper that was attached to a clipboard.

Purpley's curiosity was beginning to get the better of her. She's still not quite willing to trust Amy, but she wondered what she was up to.

"What are you doing?"

Amy showed Purpley the clipboard. She was actually drawing a picture of Luigi sleeping.

"Sometimes I like to draw pictures of Luigi," the fan explained. "Some of them even earned me prizes in the past."

Amy was about to continue with her work when she noticed Luigi sitting up in bed.

"Hey! You moved!"

Luigi didn't respond to her. He rubbed his eyes, rolled off the bed so he landed on all fours and scurried off to the kitchen to get some breakfast.

Waluigi, Mario and Pinky were already there. Waluigi was making waffles, Mario was stabbing the table with a fork out of boredom and Pinky was staring out the window.

Mario stopped what he was doing when he saw Luigi come in. "Hey there, Luigi. Ready to take on the competition?"

"I'm not sure," Luigi yawned. "I had a bit of a rough night."

"Huh? Did something happen?"

"I had another dream..."

Luigi described the dream to Mario. He saw a wide landscape featuring deserts, waterfalls, caverns and even a castle in the clouds. He also heard a girl crying for help, but he did not know who it was.

"Sounds like trouble," Mario said with concern. "Remember the last time you heard a lady call for help? That didn't go very well, did it?"

Luigi just gave Mario a cold glare.

"Hey, you," Waluigi beckoned. "Take a seat and chow down. Fighting on an empty stomach is no good."

"Yeah. I know," Luigi sighed. "But I'm still not sure if I'm up to this."

Pinky listened to the entire conversation quietly. Like the other yoshis, she wanted to help Luigi somehow. After Mario left to fetch the Green Fire, she spoke to Luigi.

"Luigi."

"What's up, Pinky?"

Pinky reached under her saddle and pulled out an odd-looking leaf. "Before the fight, eat this."

"What's this? It doesn't even look edible."

"If it's what I think it is, it will help you out."

"Well, I know you're only trying to do good. I guess it can't hurt to try it." Luigi put the leaf in his pocket for now.

After Luigi enjoyed a couple of waffles and a glass of orange juice, he left the kitchen and saw that Mario was ready to take him to the stadium.

"It's time to get this show on the road!" Mario called to Luigi. "Hop on!"

Luigi waved to Pinky and Purpley, then sat down on the back of the Green Fire. Mario revved he kart's engine and took off.

"I hope we will be okay," said Pinky.

"Don't worry," Purpley smiled. "This is Luigi. He'll always be okay."

"You're probably right. I can't help but worry about him sometimes. He tends to push himself a little too hard..."

Mario and Luigi got to their destination with plenty of time to spare. They sat outside in the shade until it was time for Luigi's next match to start.

"Hey, Mario. What made you decide to pack this outfit?"

"Just in case we had to travel in warm places, like this one," said Mario. "Besides, they're comfy and easy to wear!"

Mario laughed at his joke, but soon stopped when he noticed that Luigi didn't do the same.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm not sure about this," Luigi frowned. "I'm still a little spooked from the dream I had. And the fight... If I lose just once, it's over. I won't know what to do then."

"Don't even think about it," Mario said wisely. "You'll lose your focus. Just keep your cool like you've been doing before and you'll be fine."

When the time came, the brothers went inside the stadium. Just before his match started, Luigi took out the leaf that Pinky gave him. He looked at it for a few seconds before popping it into his mouth.

"Bleh..." Luigi groaned as he ate the leaf. "This tastes like cardboard..."

In the arena, Boone was announcing the next match-up. "Coming out of the blue gate is a guy with a tough shell to crack...ALFONSO!"

An angry-looking bright orange Noki stomped out of the gate.

"And coming out of the red gate is a fiery fellow that made a daring rescue at Hotel Delfino a few days ago...LUIGI!"

Luigi scampered out of the gate. He was feeling much more eager now.

"Ohohoho!" Boone chortled. "Looks like somebody is unleashing their wild side! Annnd...fight!"

Boone banged the gong, signaling the beginning of the match

"Let's do this!" Luigi shouted as he dashed toward his opponent like a crazed gorilla.

"What the heck is this?!" Alfonso growled before he retreated into his shell.

Luigi skidded to a halt, then he slowly circled Alfonso while thinking of a plan.

"This match is gonna be really slow..." Waluigi said in the crowd.

"I disagree," Mario stated. "Unlike Koopas, Nokis are actually pretty speedy."

"I don't see that thing speeding anywhere right now."

What Waluigi said was true. Alfonso sat tight while Luigi continued to circle him. Luigi punched the shell a few times, but it didn't budge. Luigi tried lifting it, but he could only do so with one hand because he needed the other one for support. It was too heavy. Luigi tried tossing a fireball at it, but this had no effect either. There was still one more thing to try. Luigi turned so his back faced the shell, then he stood on his hands just long enough to kick the shell with his good foot.

"Wargh!" Alfonso yelled as he came out of hiding.

"Hah! That did the trick!"

"Are you feeling lucky, punk?!" Alfonso pulled out a bat with a shell at the end of it and started to pummel Luigi with it.

"Ooo..." Purpley covered her eyes. "I can't watch."

"C'mon, Luigi!" Oshi rooted for his idol. "Burn him!"

Luigi raised one of his arms and activated his Hyper Burn attack. However, one problem with Hyper Burn is that in order to get the maximum effect, Luigi needs to be able to raise both arms. With one arm, the usually mighty attack only had half of its intensity. Still, it was enough to drive away Alfonso. Before his opponent had a chance to recover, Luigi jumped and used a rolling attack.

"Hey! You shouldn't be allowed to do stuff like that, you freak!" Alfonso snarled.

Alfonso ran and tackled Luigi, which knocked him off balance and made him land on his butt. Luigi was stunned at first, but then he came up with a plan.

"Let's see you do that again!" Luigi teased.

Alfonso held his bat over his head and charged toward Luigi. Luigi grinned when he saw this. The position Luigi was in freed up both of his arms, meaning he could easily use Hyper Burn with its full power. There was no way Alfonso could deal with this.

"What?! No way!"

Luigi unleashed the beam of fire on Alfonso, then punched him in the face and knocked him onto his back. Luigi finished by charging up a Thunderhand and electrocuted the opponent with it.

"No! I...can't...looose..." was the last thing Alfonso said before he fainted.

The match was over and Boone banged the gong. "I can't believe what I just saw! Luigi wins!"

Luigi proudly waved at the wildly cheering crowd. Afterward, Luigi met up with Boone in the lobby.

"Well well well..." Boone chuckled. "Looks like you made it to the finals. I wasn't sure if you could pull it off after the hotel incident."

"Oh. You heard about that, huh?"

"Of course. I heard all about it on the radio. Your brother as well as the owner of the hotel told me too. Anyway, your final match is in five hours. Take some time to relax and enjoy what the island has to offer."

Luigi liked that idea. "I think I will actually."

"One last thing before you go. That new outfit and fighting style of yours is, in a word, wild."

"Heheh. Grazie."

Luigi exited the building and joined seven of his friends. Mario already took off with the Green Fire. Luigi got a ride on Oshi and the party headed for Gelato Beach.

"I don't get it, Pinky," Luigi spoke up later on down the road. "What was that leaf for?"

"You never figured it out, huh?" Pinky answered. "Did I ever tell you about the perky plant before?"

"Perky plant? That name doesn't sound familiar. What is it?"

"The perky plant is a strange little bush that grows only in really hot or cold places," the pink yoshi explained. "I remember the first time I came across one. I was up in the mountains looking for Mini Bluey and got lost. I was cold and tired and I collapsed near a bush. I was also really hungry, but the only I thing I could try eating that was in my reach was the leaves of the bush. So I tried it. It didn't taste very good, but it perked me right up and I was able to get back home. That's why I call it the perky plant."

"Hmm..." said a confused Oshi. "You didn't go to Sherbet Land with us. So where did you get the leaf from?"

"She said it's also in hot places," Luigi pointed out. "She probably got it in Birabuto. Am I right?"

Pinky nodded. "That's right. When you guys were talking to Abu, I saw a perky plant and took a leaf in case something like this happened. I know you saved a heart fruit so you could beat the zookeepers, so I was did the same. You remember, don't you?"

Back when a couple of zookeepers landed on Yoshi's Island and tried catching the yoshis, Luigi found a heart fruit during his travels. He held onto it so he could have it all to himself when he had the chance. However, he knew that the heart fruit also had some magical properties. He finally ate it when he found himself in a lot of trouble and everything worked out in the end.

"Of course. Although that wasn't my original plan. Still, I'm really thankful that you got that for me. Grazie."

Pinky smiled. She was glad that she was able to find a way to help the hero.


	19. The Final Match

Chapter XIX: The Final Match

Luigi decided to take Boone's advice and enjoy some time on Isle Delfino. Mario hasn't been complaining about the island as much as he used to and seemed to be warming up to it. He suggested that the gang checked out an area called Pianta Village.

Like its name says, it is a village that is only inhabited by Piantas. Purpley, Oshi and Yosheta met some Pianta kids there and played with them. An oversized swing set caught Waluigi's attention, so he got Wario to push him on it. Amy climbed on top of one of the giant mushrooms and watched the fluffy white clouds drift by. Mario, Luigi and Pinky went to the local hot spring where Luigi relaxed in the warm water.

"Whoa...that's hot..." Luigi gasped as he slowly slipped into the hot spring. "Aaah..."

"I had the feeling you'd like it," said Mario. "It should help you relax and get rid of any soreness you might have."

"I've seen a pond like this before," Pinky noted. "It was during one of the times I was looking for Mini Bluey. I thought it was weird at first, but it was actually nice."

Luigi sighed with relief. "I could spend all day in here..."

"It might be tempting, but don't forgot that you still have one more fight to take care of."

After everyone had a great time in the village, Luigi's party left. Back on the S.S., Purpley noticed Luigi doing some leg stretches in his room.

"What are you doing? You look kinda funny."

"I'm just doing a few stretches before the final match," Luigi replied. "I can't afford to go in there with tight leg muscles."

"Huh... I don't know what any of that means."

"Don't worry, Purpley. I'll see to it that I get the egg. I'm not letting anything or anyone stop me."

"Oh," Purpley giggled. "I know exactly what that means."

When the S.S. Garlic reached Gelato Beach, Luigi and Mario got off. Something seemed odd about the place this time. It was completely deserted.

"Where do you suppose everyone went?" Mario said in confusion.

"I don't know...but that might explain why they're gone!" Luigi spotted the fiendish frog Wart near the sand cabana.

"Whahahaha!"

"I won't let you get away from me!" Mario shouted and ran off to pursue Wart.

"You gotta be kidding me..." Luigi groaned. "Wario! Go help Mario! The rest of you stay here!"

"I'll drive you to th-" Waluigi started to say.

"No, Waluigi. I need you to stay here and watch over the yoshis in case Wart comes back. I'll have Chicky drive me there."

"Are you sure about that?" Amy asked.

Luigi didn't hear her though. "Let's do this!"

Waluigi got the Green Fire for Luigi and Amy. Luigi hopped on the back while Amy took the steering wheel. There is a bit of a problem with Luigi's plan however...

"Chicky!" Luigi screamed as she drove quickly to the stadium. "Slow down! You're driving like a madman!"

"Hey! I tried to tell you! I've never driven in my life!"

"WHAT?!"

"I've played Mario Kart before, so I've got the gist of it!"

"Oh, crud! Mama miaaaaa!"

In the uncharted land where the castle of Wart was, the foe sat upon his throne and watched Luigi via his crystal ball.

"Everything is going according to plan," he grinned.

"But how can that be, master?" Mouser asked him. "The bozo is still fighting."

"That may be true, my friend. But I noticed that although Luigi is strong, he lacks confidence. I've arranged it so that his companions are not there to encourage him."

The crystal ball's viewed changed and it now showed Mario.

"I've temporarily shed my shadow and it is now leading some of Luigi's friends on a wild goose chase. The others fear me and refuse to leave the ship. By the time they realize what is happening, Luigi will be defeated and won't be able to get the egg."

"That's a sneaky and devious plan!" Mouser snickered. "I love it!"

On Isle Delfino, the Green Fire reached its destination even with an inexperienced driver at the wheel. Luigi wasn't too thrilled with the ride at all.

"What do you mean you've never driven before?!" Luigi shouted, almost hyperventilating. "Even Koopa Troopas know how to drive!"

"Sorry, but we don't even have karts in Aquapolis," Amy tried to explain to him. "All we have are a handful of electric scooters that only officials can use."

"But you're a princess. So that techinically makes you an official, right?"

"Well... I suppose so. But you know, nothing like having a little scare to get the adrenalin pumping before the match."

"Don't toy with me, girl!" Luigi roared.

At this time, Boone came out of the stadium. He was frantically looking for Luigi and saw him outside.

"Ah! There you are, Luigi! You're almost late for the match! Hurry up!"

Boone, Luigi and Amy entered Ciao Stadium. Luigi went to the locker room while Amy claimed her front row seat in the crowd.

"And now the moment you've all been waiting for!" Boone announced as he stepped onto the stage. "Coming out of the blue gate is the lean, mean and green fighting machine...LUIGI!"

Luigi trotted out of the gate. "This is it," he thought. "It's time to do this..."

"And coming out of the red gate is the slick and sly speedster...IL PIANTISSIMO!"

A small pink Pianta wearing a white shirt rushed out of the red gate. Luigi noticed that there was something unusual about it. It may be small, but it didn't even look much like the any of the Pianta children Luigi has seen thus far.

Boone banged the gong. "Annnd...fight!"

"Ah ha!" Il Piantissimo laughed. "So we meet again, foolish mustache man!"

"Have we met?" Luigi asked cluelessly.

Luigi had the feeling that this would be a long and difficult battle. He slowly circled Il Piantissimo to make sure he didn't leave himself open to attack. Il Piantissimo did the same, but he became impatient after a minute of this and jumped toward Luigi. The hero saw this and rolled out of the way, causing Il Piantissimo to hit the floor face first. This left him wide open for a headbutt.

"Oof!" Il Piantissimo grunted. "That was a lucky shot, you fool!"

Meanwhile, Mario, Wario and an orange yoshi were wandering around in a canyon-like area far from Gelato Beach.

"This place is sorta creepy," Wario shuddered. "Are you sure he went this way, Yoshi?"

The yoshi replied by nodding.

"I know it's creepy," Mario said seriously. "But we have to follow Wart and take him o-"

Mario's sentence was cut off when the yoshi shoved him and Wario behind a boulder.

Wart slowly flew by and cackled to himself. Although the trio had been chasing him for awhile, they failed to notice that his complexion was much darker than usual. He was also able to fly without his magic carpet for some odd reason.

"Oy... That was close," Wario said when the coast was clear.

The three came out of their hiding place and quickly, but quietly followed Wart. After a few minutes, they found him minding his business at a dead end.

"There he is," Mario whispered. "Let's hit him at the same time. Ready..."

Wario charged toward Wart with his trademark shoulder barge, then jumped and used his Lightning Slam, an electrified body slam that is capable of doing some heavy-duty damage. But Wario passed right through him! Mario and the yoshi performed their assault. Mario used his Freeze Blaster while the yoshi squirted juice at him. These attacks went through him as well!

"Whoa!" Wario exclaimed. "That's not Wart!"

Mario stopped his Freeze Blaster. "It...it's only a shadow!"

The shadow of Wart laughed and faded away.

"Dang! He just tricked us into leaving Luigi to fend for himself. Didn't he, Mario?"

"That must be it. Luigi was counting on me to be there too. I hope he's doing okay..."

At Ciao Stadium, the battle between Luigi and Il Piantissimo raged on. Il Piantissimo may have Luigi beat in the agility department, but he seemed to be more interested in attacking verbally than physically.

"Oh ho!" Il Piantissimo chuckled. "Why do you run like that? Do you think that you are some sort of wild animal perhaps? Hahaha- Argh!"

Luigi was already displeased about having to fight someone this annoying. While he was talking, Luigi snuck up to him and knocked him down with a roll attack.

"How did you even make it to the finals?" Luigi questioned him. "You talk way too much!"

The two combatants stared at each other. Il Piantissimo tried to dive at Luigi, but the hero saw this and got low, making Il Piantissimo fly right over him. After Il Piantissimo got up, he looked for a way to get past Luigi. He tried running past Luigi's left side. Luigi feinted to the right before he changed direction and rammed his opponent when he tried to whiz by. This happened two more times. Il Piantissimo tried to get past Luigi, only to be counterattacked. Eventually, Il Piantissimo changed his strategy and dashed in for a direct assault. Luigi wasn't ready for this. Il Piantissimo flipped Luigi onto his back, but Luigi was able to fling him off almost effortlessly. Soon, they forgot all about defending themselves and attacked each other in a frenzy.

Mario ran toward Ciao Stadium as fast as he could. He couldn't stand the thought of Luigi being in trouble without him around. He was worn out when he finally got there, so he took a moment to catch his breath before he entered.

Inside, the crowd was acting crazy. It was a riot!

"BOO! HISS! CHEATER!"

Mario was a little frightened by the sight. "Yikes! What's going on here?"

"Hey! Outta my way!" Amy tried to shout over the commotion. "Ow! Let go of my hair!"

Mario spotted Amy trying to fight her way through the crowd. Mario used his hammer to clear away a path to reach her.

"There you are! What happened here?!"

"Everyone's ticked off at each other for some reason! It's nuts!"

"Hang on, Chicky! We're getting out of here!"

Mario grabbed Amy with one hand while using his other hand to smash his way through the crowd with his hammer. When they were safely in the lobby, Mario dusted himself off and Amy straightened out her headband.

"Is that any way to treat a lady?" Amy scowled. "The nerve of some people..."

"I'll say, but what on Plit happened to Luigi? Is he alright?"

As if he heard what Mario said, Boone entered the lobby. "You there! Luigi's brother!"

"Yeah? What's going on?"

"I apologize for the riot. I honestly don't know what went wrong. I fear there may have been some gambling involved here. Anyhoo, take this and give it to Luigi. He seemed to be the fan favorite and I believe he truly deserves it."

Mario accepted the red-spotted yoshi egg from Boone.

"Now where are those darn security guards? Looks like I'll have to get your brother out of there myself." Boone went back to find Luigi.

Mario and Amy shrugged and went outside. After what seemed like hours, Luigi finally came out of the building and he wasn't in a good mood.

"Isn't this magical?" Luigi said sarcastically. "I just wasted all my time and energy on this stupid tournament. I didn't get the egg and they didn't even tell me if I won or not!" Luigi slammed his fist on the ground in frustration. "Those lousy, no good-"

Mario tried to becalm Luigi. "Whoa. Settle down. It's okay. I've got the egg right here."

Luigi's mood took a turn for the better when he noticed the egg. "Phew. It's about time. Let's go back to the ship. I've had enough of this island..."

Mario and Amy agreed with that. Mario hopped into the driver's seat of the Green Fire. Amy sat on the back while Luigi sat on her lap. It wasn't the most comfortable thing to do, but the kart was a tad bit on the small side. Mario had to drive carefully so neither of his passengers fell off.

Waluigi was waiting for the hero's return on the deck of the S.S. Garlic. He began to get a little concerned when sunset came before the trio did.

"Is everything okay?" Waluigi asked when the Green Fire finally arrived. "You had be kinda worried."

Luigi took his hat off and rubbed his head. He was still a bit dazed from the struggle in the stadium and didn't feel like talking.

"I'll answer that one," said Amy. "There was a problem at the finals, but we got the egg."

"I really wish I knew what happened though," Mario said in a disappointed tone.

"Oh, it was such a mess. I think I'm gonna have this bruise on my arm for awhile. Ow..."

"Well, come on over to the kitchen," Waluigi offered. "We're having grilled cheese sandwiches right now."

The trio followed Waluigi into the kitchen and ate dinner. Although everyone wanted to know what Luigi's final fight in the tournament was like, Luigi refused to discuss it. He just wanted to eat and go to sleep so he could regain his strength. That's exactly what he did...


	20. Two Goals, Two Paths

Chapter XX: Two Goals, Two Paths

Luigi woke up the next morning feeling much better than he did the previous night. He was done with the tournament, got the fourth yoshi egg and got a good night's rest. But what about his foot? Luigi turned and let his legs hang off the edge of the bed, then put his right foot on the floor. Luigi hesitated awhile and slowly put his left foot, the injured one, on the floor. He waited a bit longer before he finally stood up.

"Well, I'm not cursing and screaming in pain," Luigi smiled, clearly pleased with this. "I guess I'm in the clear."

Luigi took a few awkward steps forward and noticed that he was all alone. Purpley and Amy were nowhere to be seen.

"It's been fun wearing this, but I want my old duds back."

Luigi swapped out his strikers uniform for the classic green shirt and blue overalls, then he went to the kitchen to get something to eat.

"Hey, Waluigi," Luigi said as he entered. "What's cooking this mor- Waluigi?"

Much like Luigi's cabin, the kitchen was also empty. Luigi began to feel a bit uneasy and checked the helm is see if Wario was operating it. Luckily, he was.

"Mario, run that by me again," Wario asked. "Why do you want to go home?"

"There's something weird about this Wart guy," Mario said in a no-nonsense tone. "I can probably figure out what it is if I just had my Plumber's Log."

"What's nice and all, but is Luigi going to agree with that? I'm sure he still wants to look for eggs. Right, Luigi? Wah!" Wario was surprised by Luigi's sudden appearance.

Hi, Wario."

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long. So I guess we're going back to the Mushroom Kingdom for now, huh?"

"I haven't checked _The World of Plit_ lately, so I don't have any ideas. What about you?"

"Well, the Beanbean Kingdom is right next door to the Mushroom Kingdom. I think we can do a little multi-tasking. I'll go to the Beanbean Kingdom and look for the next egg while Mario goes to the Mushroom Kingdom and get the Plumber's Log so we can sort out this mess."

"Are you sure you don't want me to lend you a hand over there?" Mario asked.

"Nah. I'm sure I can get Prince Peasley to help out. Besides, you might take awhile. I know that book is pretty thick and your handwriting can be pretty crappy. I'll probably get the fifth egg before you solve this little mystery."

Mario felt a bit offended by this. "What?!"

"Um...right..." Luigi backed away. "I'm gonna drop in on the others now."

Inside Wart's castle, the villain once again sat on his throne and thought of a plot. For some odd reason, the Birdo that was chained to the throne was gone.

"MOUSER!"

"You bellowed, your toadiness?" Mouser said meekly.

"I've confirmed the location of one of the eggs. As you may be able to guess, Luigi's party is already on their way there. I need you to stall him while I lay a trap."

"I see where this is going," Mouser huffed. "Oh, yes. Get ol' Mouser to pester 'em while Tryclyde sets up a trap. Didn't we already do this?"

"I will not be deploying Tryclyde this time," Wart said sternly. "I'll be using a new weapon that I just finished making instead. Now then, I'll allow you to use my flying carpet. Get out there and stall Luigi by any means possible. Mess with his ship's engine. Kidnap one of his friends. I don't care how you do it. Just go and stall him."

"I will not fail you, my master. Trickery is my specialty!"

On the S.S. Garlic, Luigi found the rest of his friends at the pool. It was a beautiful day and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Perfect weather for swimming. Waluigi and Amy relaxed on a couple of beach chairs while the yoshis splashed about in the pool. Today, Amy was wearing yet another tie-dye shirt, dark-blue capris and white sandals.

"Hey, guys," Luigi greeted. "How's it going?"

Waluigi lifted up the sunglasses he wore and looked at Luigi. "Heeey... You can stand again!"

"Yeah. I'm still a little wobbly, but I'm fine. It was about time, really. Getting around on all fours just isn't for me. I'll stick to being bipedal if you don't mind.

"So what's the next stop anyway? Any clue?"

"Well, Mario wants to go back home and grab something. I, on the other hand, want to continue the egg hunt in the Beanbean Kingdom."

"Beanbean...Beanbean...Beanbean..." Waluigi mused. "Oh, right. That place. Never been there. Seems like there's way too much green there for my liking. Sometimes seeing a lot of that color makes me want to barf."

"Really now? You mean you don't know that's wher-"

"Mmm... This sunlight feels good..." Amy sighed with delight. She had been sitting there the entire time with her eyes closed.

"You sure brought a lot of outfits," Luigi noted. "I haven't seen you wear the same thing twice yet."

"Actually, this is the last one I brought. I put everything else in the laundry though, so it'll be good to go."

"Okay. I was a little curious about that."

Amy suddenly sat up in her chair and gazed around.

"Is something wrong?"

"Did someone just walk by me?"

"Not me."

"Huh... I could've sworn something just passed by..."

Suddenly, the yoshis screamed in panic and violently splashed about in the pool.

"What's going on?" Waluigi asked.

"Something spooked the yoshis!" Luigi answered.

The cause of the problem swooped out of the sky. It was a familiar mouse on a magic carpet, of course. "Guess whooo!"

"Mouser!" Luigi shouted.

"That's right! It's me again! This time I'm going fishing...for yoshis!"

"Over my dead body!"

Mouser wielded an over-sized bug-catching net and dived toward the pool. All the yoshis managed to get out by now except Yosheta. She was a good swimmer, but not while in a state of panic.

"Luigi! Help me!" Yosheta screamed when she got snatched up.

Luigi began to charge up a Hyper Burn. "That does it! I'm in the mood for some roasted rat!"

"Luigi! Don't!" Waluigi warned. "You might fry Yosheta too!"

Luigi paused. He realized that Waluigi could be right and held his fire.

"That's right. Do as your friend says. Sayonara, sucker!" Mouser flew away with Yosheta in hand.

Luigi was furious now. He released his Hyper Burn in a random direction, then shouted many colorful phrases at the top of his lungs.

"Yikes. Not good," Waluigi frowned.

"That thing just took Yosheta away!" Oshi alerted Luigi.

"You think I don't know that?!"

Oshi got frightened by the sudden outburst and whimpered.

"This is no big deal." Amy said, having total faith in Luigi. "You can chase him down. Right?"

"What do you expect me to do? Grow a tail and fly after him? Sorry, but things don't work that way."

"One of you guys has to have a trick up their sleeve. You!" Amy pointed at Waluigi. "You're a sneaky and crafty guy, aren't you? You think of something!"

"Uh...well...you see..." Waluigi said nervously. "Since you mentioned it, I think I've got just the thing. Hang on!" Waluigi fled the scene.

Amy scratched her head. "What was that?"

"Luigi, dear," Pinky said as she pat Luigi's back. "Please calm down."

Luigi only got angrier instead. "Calm down? Calm down?! How can you tell me to calm down when your daughter just got kidnapped?! I'm so ticked off right now, I could burn something!"

Unable to control his rage, Luigi set fire to the beach chair that Waluigi sat on moments ago with his Pyro Kick.

"Ugh... What am I doing?" Luigi panted. "Randomly razing stuff won't bring Yosheta back. I gotta calm down..."

"Have you eaten anything today?" Purpley asked. "I always feel better when I have a full belly."

"Good idea," Luigi agreed. "I didn't even have breakfast yet. No wonder I'm in such a bad mood."

Luigi went into the kitchen to whip up some food. He had just put some bread in the toaster when Waluigi came in.

"Everything's all set!" Waluigi grinned and grabbed onto Luigi. "Let's go get that dirty rat!"

"But, Waluigi! I haven't eaten anything yet!"

Waluigi half-dragged Luigi to what appeared to be a landing strip. At the end of it was a machine that looked much like the Waluigi Racer. However, it was a bit bigger and had propellers on it. It was actually a gyrocopter. Waluigi must plan to use it to chase Mouser.

Luigi cheered up when he saw it. "This is the Waluigi Flyer, isn't it? Wow, you're one step ahead of me again!"

"You got that right!" Waluigi boasted.

"Great! Let's do this!"


	21. Aerial Pursuit

Chapter XXI: Aerial Pursuit

"Pretty sweet-looking ride, huh?" Waluigi grinned as he strapped on a pilot's cap.

"I sure wasn't expecting it to show up here," Luigi admitted. "The S.S. Garlic is big, but I had no idea it had a garage and landing strip just for the Waluigi Flyer. Warios are pretty darn clever."

"Heheheh. Of course we are. Let's hop in and start this bad boy up!"

Waluigi climbed into the cockpit while Luigi hopped into the back seat.

"Buckle up!" Waluigi shouted "This will be a wild ride!"

"Oh, right. Safety first," Luigi chuckled and clicked the seatbelt in place. "Now go get 'em! For great justice!"

Waluigi started the Flyer's engine and it soon took off from the landing strip on the S.S. Garlic.

"You know," Luigi said after a minute. "I'm thinking that maybe we should've let the bros know where we're going first."

"Nyeh. They're fine," Waluigi scoffed.

"I'm not so sure. I know how Mario can be when I'm not around."

"I've seen it. He had quite a fit the night you went overboard."

"My point exactly. It's not fair to make him worry like t-"

"Hold that thought! I see something up ahead!"

Waluigi pulled out a pair of binoculars that he might have stolen from Mario and used them to look further ahead.

"Target confirmed!" the pilot shouted. "I see him up ahead. He's heading north-west."

"Cool. The Beanbean Kingdom happens to be that way. Once we get Yosheta back, we can go over there and see if there's another egg."

"That dirty rodent. What he did was just wrong. Even I put a limit on my sneaky tricks."

"Sure you do..." Luigi shrugged.

Luigi didn't say anything after that. All he could think about was getting Yosheta back. But things don't seem to be moving fast enough for him...

"For goodness sake! Doesn't this thing have any nitros are something? Hurry up!"

"Pipe down!" Waluigi insisted. "I've got everything under control. Don't forget that I can't blast the little twit because I might tag Yosheta too. Just wait and see what I do when we get near him. Heheh."

"I really hope you know what you're doing..."

Over on Mouser's end of the sky-high pursuit, Yosheta struggled to get out of the net.

"Who do you think you are?" she grunted. "Where are you taking me?"

"Who I am is none of your business," Mouser sneered. "You're going to the Beanbean Kingdom so my master can try out his new weapon. How do you like them apples?"

"Watermelons are my favorite. Are apples the lucky fruit today?"

"Huh...what?! What's that supposed to mean? Wait a second. What is that chopping noise?"

Mouser looked behind him and saw the answer to his question. The Waluigi Flyer caught up to him!

"Oh, cheeseballs..."

"It's time to rock 'n' roll!" Waluigi cackled as he eyes began to glow a sinister purple. "Dark Stare!"

Waluigi's rather unorthodox attack caused the carpet to slow down. Mouser tried to figure out what was making the carpet malfunction when Yosheta managed to free herself from the net.

"What's happening?!" Mouser growled. "Nooo! Get back here, you little lizard!"

Mouser pulled out a bomb and was about to throw it at Yosheta, but the Waluigi Flyer caught his attention and he hurled it at that instead.

"Gah! Direct hit!" Waluigi screamed. "Sorry, Luigi. I gotta circle around and give this another shot!"

"I don't care what you do! Just get Yosheta back!"

Mouser pulled out another bomb and chucked it at the gyrocopter. Waluigi used his sharp shooting skills to unleash a missile and detonate the bomb just after it was thrown. Mouser got caught in the blast and was sent flying off the carpet.

"Raaaaaaaaaats!" Mouser howled as he plummeted toward the wide ocean.

"Nice shot, Waluigi!" Luigi cheered.

Luckily, Yosheta wasn't hit with the big boom. But she was trapped on the carpet which simply hovered in the air now.

"Oh dear," the yoshi said nervously. "I'm stuck..."

"How do we get her off there?" Waluigi asked.

"I'll release the ladder and grab her myself. You just slow down, circle around and drop altitude."

"Roger!"

Waluigi followed the instructions carefully while Luigi lowered the ladder and climbed down.

"A bit to the right!" Luigi shouted over the sound of whirling propellers. "No, the other right! Now drop altitude a bit more!"

Waluigi was able to line up the Waluigi Flyer with the carpet perfectly and Luigi had little trouble snagging Yosheta. Luigi wrapped an arm around her and lifted her off the carpet.

"Gotcha!" Luigi cried happily. "You're safe with me!"

"Thank you!" Yosheta smiled.

Now that nobody was controlling it, the magic carpet fluttered toward the ocean like a leaf in the autumn breeze.

"Are you okay, Yosheta? He didn't hurt you at all, did he?"

"I'm okay, but I was really scared."

"Good to hear that. That you're okay I mean!" Luigi quickly corrected himself.

"I'm sorry I got you in this mess. I should've been more careful."

"It's fine. We can start looking for the next egg sooner because of this. Waluigi! Land 'er at the Beanbean Airport!"

Waluigi looked at Luigi and Yosheta and saluted them. "Roger!"

"I sure hope they don't mind if we make an unexpected landing there," Luigi said to himself.

"Where are we going again?"

"The Beanbean Kingdom. It's a nice happy place. I bet you'd like it there. Okay then. My arms are getting kinda tired. Let's get in the Flyer."

Luigi and Yosheta carefully climbed the ladder and hopped into the back seat of the aircraft. They enjoyed their flight as the Beanbean Kingdom slowly came into view.

"I don't know this area," the pilot said. "I need you to tell me where the airport is real quick."

"You can't miss it," Luigi replied. "It's right on the southern coast which we happen to be approaching. Just go ahead and touch down at the right end.

"Roger."

Waluigi expertly landed the gyrocopter on the tarmac. The trio climbed out and proceeded through the gate. One of the fellows working there shouted at the group though...

"Hey! You guys can't park that thing here! It's unauthorized aircraft!"

"Don't worry about it," Luigi said casually.

"Oh! Luigi, sir! I'll just move it onto the grass until you return..."

After leaving the airport, Waluigi and Yosheta followed Luigi through the lush, green fields of the Beanbean Kingdom.

"Where do we start looking?" Yosheta asked.

"I'm going to get some help from the kingdom's prince. Security at the castle has been pretty tight lately, so I'll have to go in on my own. While I'm doing that, you two can hang out in Beanbean Castle Town. By the way, here we are."

The small party arrived at Beanbean Castle Town, a happy, thriving town inhabited by friendly bean people. There were many shops to check out. To the north was the castle itself which was Luigi's destination.

"I'll be at the castle," said Luigi. "You guys just stay out of trouble, okay?"

"No problem," Waluigi replied. "I think I'll check out that store right there."

Luigi left his companions for the time being and walked up a few flights of stairs, crossed a bridge and went right up to the main door of the castle where a pair of guards stood.

"Ah. If it isn't...Louie?" said the first guard. "That isn't it. Louis? No, wait..."

Luigi shook his head and tapped his foot. These guards had a habit of forgetting his name.

"You should know it by now," the second guard said as he bonked the other guard on the head.

"Oh! That's right! Luigi! I got it now!"

"Hey there, Luigi. What brings you here on this fine day?"

"I happen to be on a rescue mission," Luigi answered.

"Oh, is the queen ill?"

"Actually, I'm rescuing someone else. A friend of mine. I came to get a little help from the prince."

"Right. That would've been my second guess.

"Okay then," the second guard spoke. "You may enter. The prince is tending to the royal gardens in the east wing."

Both of the castle guards moved to the side and allowed Luigi to enter. Inside, Luigi easily located Prince Peasley in the garden.

"Well well well..." the prince said when he saw the plumber. "If it isn't my good friend, Luigi the superstar!"

Luigi, of course, was modest. Even more so when Peasley praised him. He simply chuckled and blushed.

"Oh my. That 'stache of yours is stunning! Have you been training on the sly or drinking lots of Teehee Blend? Whatever it is, keep it up. You'll probably be able to do...this!" Peasley finished with is trademark "hair shine."

Luigi always found Prince Peasley rather humorous and chuckled some more. He probably would've continued if his stomach didn't rumble at the time.

"Oof...that's right..." Luigi sighed and put a hand over his belly. "I haven't eaten a thing today. I'm on a rescue mission and-"

"Oh, goodness," the prince tsk-tsked. "I simply cannot allow you to do any rescuing on an empty stomach. Here, have some coins and buy yourself some lunch."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Certainly. No need to pay it back. It's on me. After you've finished eating, come right back and fill me in..."

Peasley handed Luigi a small sack of coins. Luigi accepted it and went out to get a much deserved lunch.


	22. Robot Rampage

Chapter XXII: Robot Rampage

Luigi arrived at Beanbean Castle to get some advice from Prince Peasley, but the regal bean insisted that he get some lunch first. After enjoying some mushrooms and syrup, Luigi returned and gave Prince Peasley all the details about his rescue mission.

"My, aren't you quite the ladies' man!" Peasley laughed. "Princess Daisy, Princess Amy and even female yoshis... I told you that girls loved confidence!"

"Um...right," Luigi said, trying to take things seriously. "So do you think there might be a yoshi egg around here?"

"I suppose there's a very good chance. But I haven't got a clue where one could be."

Peasley paced back and forth. Luigi put a hand on his chin and thought.

"I may have an idea, Luigi. Have you ever heard of Boddle? He's the president of the Yoshi Fan Club and he owns the Yoshi Theater to the north. If any yoshi-related happenings occur around here, he's usually the first to know."

"I completely forgot about that. Sounds like a great place to start looking."

"By the way," the prince added. "Where might your red-capped brother be? The two of you usually aren't seen apart."

"He's got his own mission to take care of. He went back to the Mushroom Kingdom to get his Plumber's Log that he uses to keep records of every adventure. He hopes that there's some info on Wart in there. But honestly, I don't think we've encountered him before."

"A clever idea. Knowing the enemy can be a quick path to success. In any case, you'd better hustle to the Yoshi Theater. I won't take up any more of your time."

"Grazie."

Luigi bid farewell to his friend and left the castle. Back in town, he found Yosheta standing outside of the clothing store.

"Where's Waluigi?"

Yosheta pointed to the store. "He's in there, but I'm not going in. He's being a jerk."

Luigi went into the store and saw exactly what Yosheta meant. Waluigi was having an argument with the shopkeeper.

"For the last time, sir," the shopkeeper protested while trying to remain calm. "I don't have anything that can possibly fit you. I've never even seen physiology like yours before."

"What? Is my money not good enough for you?" Waluigi barked.

"That's another thing. Those are mushroom coins. I can't take those even if I wanted to."

Luigi yanked Waluigi right out of the shop by one of his pointy ears. "Okay, Waluigi. I think you've harassed that poor shopkeeper long enough."

"Hey! Whoa! Take it easy!" Waluigi yelped.

"Did you figure out anything?" Yosheta asked when Luigi and Waluigi came outside.

"Well, Prince Peasley suggested that I check out a place called the Yoshi Theater. There's a possibility that the guy that owns the place may know something."

"Yoshi Theater, huh? What's a theater?"

"You'll see for yourself soon. But there's one little thing I need to take care of first.

"What's that?"

Luigi cleared his throat before speaking to his rival formally. "Waluigi, you've been really helpful to me lately and I really appreciate it. So I'll give you a bit of a reward right now."

"Oh reeeally?" Waluigi said curiously.

"I know you have a thing for Chuckola Cola. Lucky for you, it's made right here in the Beanbean Kingdom. I'm allowing you to go to Chateau de Chucklehuck on your own while Yosheta and I look for the egg."

"Wait. So you mean..."

"That's right. I'm dismissing you for the time being. We'll come get you in awhile."

"Cool. Thanks, man." Waluigi was about to walk way, but had second thoughts. "Where is the place anyway?"

"You know the big hill we passed on the way here? Just climb that and cross the bridge. It's a pretty straightforward path from there."

"Right. I can handle that. Later!" Waluigi dashed away.

"Well, Yosheta," Luigi smiled. "It's just you and me now. Let's go to the theater and see if we figure this out."

"Sure," Yosheta nodded. "I want to see what a theater is."

The pair left Beanbean Castle Town quietly and walked north to the Yoshi Theater. A few Sworms and Sharpeas got in the way, but Luigi's hammer made short work of them. After a few minutes, they arrived at the theater.

"Oh, wow!" Yosheta said in awe. "This is a theater? It's so pretty!"

The Yoshi Theater was a rather colorful place. The sign was lit up with neon yoshi eggs that Luigi and Mario helped collect a couple years ago. At the door was a line of yoshis that eagerly waited to go inside and watch a movie. There was also an odd-looking fellow nearby that wore what seemed to be a yoshi egg suit.

"Hey, Boddle," Luigi said to egg-clad man. "Do you have a minute?"

"Yes," he answered. This is the owner of the place and, therefore, the person Luigi was looking for. "Is there something you want to ask me about?"

While Luigi and Boddle conversed, a green yoshi and a brown yoshi that were standing in line noticed Yosheta and talked to each other in yoshi speak.

"Hey. Check out the cutie over there," said the green yoshi.

Brown yoshi whistled. "What a beaut. I've never seen her before."

"Why don't you go talk to her?"

Brown yoshi shook his head. "Me? No way. A hottie like that would never dig a guy like me."

Green yoshi nudged his friend. "C'mon. Live a little. You'll never know unless you try."

"I guess you're right."

"Oh?" Yosheta gasped when the brown yoshi approached her.

"Hey there, hotcakes," he said in yoshi. "What say you and I watch Legend of Stafy and then later we can-"

Yosheta was a shy yoshi to begin with. She had no clue what the stranger was talking about and slowly backed away.

"Oh man..." The brown yoshi walked back to the line dejectedly. "I really blew that one."

"You sure did," said the green yoshi. "That's gotta burn, dude."

Yosheta was so nervous that she kept backing up...right into Luigi. He and Boddle were still talking.

"That might explain what's up with this egg I found a few days ago," the president of the Yoshi Fan Club said as he showed Luigi an egg with light-blue spots. "I asked everyone that came here if it was theirs, but no one claimed it. I'm sure glad I was able to get it back to its owner. Here you go."

Luigi took the egg from Boddle. "Grazie. You've been very helpful."

"Good luck finding the rest of your friends! Yoshis are such wonderful things!"

"I agree," Luigi smiled. "Okay, Yosheta. It's time to go."

After saying good-bye, Luigi and Yosheta left the Yoshi Theater and headed toward Chateau de Chucklehuck. They hadn't gone very far when they were confronted by a large robot that resembled a Birdo.

"Luigi, what's this thing?" Yosheta asked as her eyes widened with fear.

"TARGET IN SIGHT." the Robirdo buzzed. "SCANNING TARGET... TARGET IDENTIFIED AS LUIGI OF THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM. PROCEEDING TO EXTERMINATE."

"Pro seeding to what? What's that mean?"

"It just means it wants to beat me up," Luigi said, but quickly realized what was going on. "Uh oh!"

Luigi went into a fighting stance, dropping the newly obtained egg in the process. Yosheta was quick to grab it and hide in a bush.

"Okay. What have you got for me, big guy?"

The robot began to attack by firing over-sized eggs at Luigi. The hero easily dodged them by jumping and struck back with a mid-air karate chop. Luigi yelped in pain when he hurt his hand on the tough metal.

"Dang," Luigi grumbled as he landed from the jump and rubbed his hand. "Physical attacks are a no-go. Whoa!"

The robot attempted to charge into Luigi, but he rolled out of the way. The next attack was more giant eggs. Luigi continued to dodge the barrage while coming up with a plan of his own.

"ROBIRDO WAS TOLD TO KILL ON SIGHT. WILL COMPLY. MUST PLEASE MASTER WART."

"Alright, Luigi," he thought to himself. "You've dealt with stuff like this before. You just gotta pick out its weakness. Let's see... Metal conducts heat and electricity, so moves based on those elements should work fine. Aren't I lucky? I have both in my arsenal."

After dodging several more eggs, Luigi waited for a pause between attacks, then charged up his proudest move, the mighty Hyper Burn. Robirdo tried to ram the hero, but Luigi was able unleash the flames on it. This seemed to stun the metallic monster, giving Luigi the opportunity to charge another attack. He opted for the Thunderhand this time. Robirdo jumped into the air and crashed onto the ground. Before Luigi was hit with the resulting quake, he leaped into the air as well and blasted it with a bolt.

"SYSTEM ERROR." Robirdo's voice was beginning to fizzle out. "HP DOWN TO 50 PERCENT."

As the battle between man and machine raged on, Yosheta looked at the egg. The spots on it were light-blue; the same color as her father Mini Bluey.

"Da-daddy..." the young yoshi cried and hugged the egg. "I wish this didn't happen to you. If you wasn't like this, you could help Luigi. But...I will!"

Yosheta came out of her hiding place. She planted herself right in front of Luigi and faced Robirdo.

"Yosheta!" Luigi shouted. "What are you doing?!"

"NEW TARGET IN SIGHT. SCANNING TARGET... TARGET IDENTIFIED AS YOSHETA OF YOSHI'S ISLAND."

"Crud! It's got you in sight! Run for it!"

"Please, Mr. Roboto," Yosheta pleaded. "Please don't do this!"

Yosheta and Robirdo stared at each other in silence. Luigi urged Yosheta to get out of the way, but she refused to move.

"THIS YOSHI. WHY DOES THIS YOSHI STAND BEFORE ME."

The yoshi continued to reason with the robot. "Why? Why are you trying to hurt my friend?"

"...FRIEND."

"Yes. Luigi is my friend. He's trying to help me. Do you want to be my friend too? We can all help each other."

Robirdo paused as it tried to comprehend what Yosheta was saying. "YOSHETA...FRIEND. LUIGI...FRIEND. SYSTEM OVERLOAD. ACTIVITY CEASED."

"Huh?" Luigi gasped.

Smoke billowed out of the mechanical Birdo as it collapsed to the ground. A hatch on the back popped open and a real living Birdo poked her head out. It looked at the human and yoshi with tears in its eyes and fled scene without saying a word.

"Hey! Wait!" Luigi called after it.

"What was that?" Yosheta asked.

"That was a real Birdo. You've seen one before, haven't you? The poor thing must've been stuck inside that robot."

"Well, at least it's free now."

"True. Since we have the egg now, let's go fetch Waluigi and return home."

Luigi began to walk away. Yosheta hugged the egg which was really her father and followed Luigi.

They walked down a short path and entered a green warp pipe that dropped them off in Chucklehuck Wood. From there, they went inside the back door of Chateau de Chucklehuck and looked around the crates and barrels. Luigi and Yosheta found their companion sitting in a corner and chugging down some Chuckola Cola.

"Mama mia!" Luigi exclaimed when he saw the mess Waluigi had gotten himself into. "What happened to you?"

Waluigi drank so much cola that his belly was now almost as big as Mario's. He also looked like he couldn't even stand up anymore.

"Purple cola is awesomeness stuff, man." Waluigi burped. "Samus is one hot-"

"I suddenly have the feeling that this was a stupid idea. Remind me not to let you go near this stuff again. Anyway, it's time for us to go now."

Waluigi hiccupped. "My legs are like twigs. They're so wimpy..."

"I think I understand why. Yosheta, would you mind giving him a ride?"

Yosheta allowed Luigi to put Waluigi on her back and the pair left Chateau de Chucklehuck via the front door. When they returned to the Beanbean Airport, they found that the Waluigi Flyer was tucked away in a safe spot away from the tarmac.

"Nuts," Luigi said as he looked at the Flyer, then at Waluigi himself. "I wouldn't want Waluigi to fly this thing in the condition he's in."

"What'll we do?" Yosheta worried.

"It's not a big deal. I've flown this before. I'm not quite as good at it as Waluigi, but we'll be fine as long as I don't need do any fancy flying."

Yosheta tossed Waluigi into the back seat and sat on his lap. Luigi hopped into the cockpit and started the Waluigi Flyer. The purple gyrocopter took off with no problem and sailed over the ocean to the Mushroom Kingdom where Luigi hoped to be reunited with Mario and the rest of his friends.


	23. Resting at Home

Chapter XXIII: Resting at Home

After getting the fifth egg in the Beanbean Kingdom, Luigi and his two party members flew back to the Mushroom Kingdom with the Waluigi Flyer.

"Home should be just ahead," Luigi announced to his passengers. "I'll fly over the Toad Town Port first to see if the others even got here yet."

"Look! There it is!" Yosheta pointed to the behemoth S.S. Garlic when the port came into view.

"Clouds! Delicious fluffy clouds!" Waluigi blurted out.

"I'm taking you straight home if you keep that up, mister," Luigi said seriously.

The Waluigi Flyer flew toward the S.S. Garlic and descended. Luigi wasn't as experienced as Waluigi, so the landing was a little bumpy. Everyone was fine, but Waluigi was still acting up and wouldn't walk on his own. He rode Yosheta while she and Luigi walked through Toad Town.

"Listen up, Waluigi. I'm not letting you in my house if you keep acting like that. So knock it off!"

Waluigi quickly shook his head. "Okay... I'm okay. I got it out of my system now."

When the trio reached the warp pipe that lead to Luigi's house, they entered it one at a time. On the other end, Mario and the rest of Luigi's friends were just about to go inside the house when Luigi arrived.

"Huh?" Mario uttered when he heard the familiar sound of someone using the pipe. "Oh. There you are, Luigi. Where did you run off to?"

Luigi grinned as he held up the newest addition to his egg collection. He didn't even need to say anything.

"What the-?!"

"Wow!" Purpley squealed. "You're fast!"

"The guy really knows how to do his job," Amy remarked. "But whatever happened to Yosheta?"

As if answering her question. Yosheta poked her head out of the warp pipe and waved. "Hi, guys!"

"Ah. You got her back after all."

"Now where's that idiot brother of mine?" Wario asked. "He was with you, right?"

Waluigi popped out of the pipe right on cue.

"Oh..."

"Good," Mario sighed with relief. "I was worried for awhile, but it looks like all three of you are safe."

"Sorry about that," Luigi apologized. "But the trip wasn't exactly planned. Mouser came and scooped up Yosheta. I wasn't about to let him get away with that!"

Mario applauded. "You did some good multi-tasking. Bravo."

"Can we go inside and relax now?"

"Yes. Of course. Come on in."

Mario opened the door and allowed everyone in. Wario and Waluigi sat down at the kitchen table while the yoshis went to the bedroom to rest.

"Oh...my...gosh..." said Amy. "I'm in Luigi's house!"

Luigi watched as his fan flopped onto the ground and twitched a lot. He didn't quite know what to make of it.

"You're overreacting a bit, don't you think?" Mario asked.

Luigi agreed. "I think so too. I mean, this place is a dump right now. We never even finished the spring cleaning."

"Oh well. No time for that now. I've got some studying to do."

Mario and Luigi went to the bedroom where the older brother took a large book off the bookshelf. The book was dusty and the pages had turned yellow due to age.

"Yikes," Luigi said quietly. "That thing is in rough shape."

"Yeah. I think it may be on its last leg. Some of the pages are starting to fall out. I'm considering typing the entire thing sometime."

"Ah. Archiving it on the compy sounds like a good idea to me. Do you know what else sounds good?"

"What's that?"

"Dinner!"

Mario couldn't help but agree with that and got to work on cooking dinner, making sure that he made enough for everyone.

"Here you go, guys," Mario announced when the food was done. "Enjoy!"

The yoshis looked at the food, but they seemed disappointed. The meal looked like little more than sticks.

"Hey! You can't feed us sticks!" Oshi snapped.

"Actually, they're _fish_sticks and french fries," Luigi laughed. "Don't worry. It's totally edible."

After seeing Luigi eat one, the yoshis decided that it would be fine to eat them as well. Everyone contently ate the food except for Wario. He was too busy skimming through _The World of Plit_.

"Hey, poindexter," Mario said when he noticed Wario. "Get your nose out of that book and eat."

Wario didn't even look up. "I will in a bit. I'm just looking for another place to look for an egg."

"Oh? Any suggestions?"

"I say we check out the Waffle Kingdom next."

Suddenly, Luigi started gagging. He was in the middle of eating a fishstick when he heard something he didn't like and nearly choked.

Amy jumped out of her chair to assist Luigi. "Whoa! Are you okay?!"

Luigi drank some milk and was able to get it down. "Yeah... I'm okay..." he panted.

"What happened?" Purpley asked.

"Nothing. It's fine. I just thought I heard Wario say we're going to the Waffle Kingdom."

"Well, I did mention it," Wario confessed.

"We are not going there," Luigi said angrily.

The yoshis were confused. "Huh? Why not?"

"I hate that place as much as Mario hates Isle Delfino."

"Actually," Mario piped up. "I've lightened up a little bit. Isle Delfino has its good points."

"What's it matter? I'm pretty sure I got banned from that place anyway. I couldn't even go there if I wanted to, which I don't."

Wario flipped through the pages of _The World of Plit_. "Well, fine. We can try Rogueport then. Do you have a beef with that place too?"

"No..." Luigi said, calming down a little. "Rogueport is fine. It's filled with hoodlums, but at least not everyone there thinks I'm a total idiot. Sorry, I'm just in a bad mood right now..."

Everyone watched as Luigi got out of his seat and stormed off toward the bedroom.

"Hey. Come back here," Mario called to him. "We weren't trying to upset you. Could you at least tell us where you got the last egg from?"

"Yeah. I want to know too," said Oshi.

Luigi stopped in his tracks and turned around. He was smiling now. "You should ask Yosheta. She played a major role in getting it. I'll let her tell the tale."

"Really?" Yosheta was a bit flattered. She was a huge fan of the stories that Luigi told, but she never thought he would let her tell one for him.

"Sure," Luigi said he reclaimed his seat. "Go for it. I insist."

"Well..." Yosheta began. "I was swimming in the pool with everyone this morning and that gray thing grabbed me and tried to get away. Luigi and Waluigi used this big flying purple thing to save me and then we went to some place with green people. Luigi asked a friend there for some help and Luigi and I went to something called a theater. There were other yoshis there. Some of them talked to me and they were a little scary. Anyway, some guy there gave Luigi the egg, which is really my dad. After that, we left and some big shiny Birdo thing came and attacked us. Of course, Luigi fights it. I felt bad because I haven't been helping much so I kinda tried to make friends with it. It blew up and a real Birdo came out. And it just ran away. It didn't even talk to us. Anyway, we got back in the flying purple thing and came here."

Yosheta's story was so quick and vague that it left everyone, except Luigi, baffled and confused.

"That's...very nice, dear," Pinky tried to say politely to her daughter.

"Pretty good for your first try, but I'll clear things up," Luigi said before he retold the story so that everyone understood.

"Once again, great job multi-tasking," Mario chuckled. "But that Robirdo bit reminds me of Sonic Adventure."

"I thought so too," Waluigi agreed. "Hey. Amy even has the same name as-"

An offended Amy knew exactly what Waluigi was going to say and punted him right in the family jewels. "Call me Chicky!"

"Nooooo!" Waluigi fell onto the floor and covered the tender area. "I'm never gonna score now..."

"Well, I think it's about time we hit the hay so we're ready for tomorrow," Luigi yawned.

The hero went into the bedroom. Before going to bed, he decided to check the items in his back pack first. He looked at his flashlight and thought about how he never had the chance to use it when he noticed Amy near his dresser.

"What are you doing over there?"

"Can I have a souvenir?" Amy answered.

"Did you have something in mind?"

Amy held up a green mug. "Maybe this."

"That's my favorite coffee mug."

"What about this then?" Amy opened the dresser and pulled something out.

"Those are a pair of my boxers!" Luigi snatched the undergarment away.

"How about a lock of hair?"

"Perhaps."

"From your mustache?

"No."

"Sheesh, Chick," Waluigi sneered as he stepped into the bedroom. "Quit annoying the guy, will ya?"

"Well excuuuuuse me!" the girl shot back. "I happen to have the worst case of cabin fever in the history of Plit!"

Waluigi tried to think of a comeback, but failed. "Screw you," he mumbled before leaving the room.

Luigi continued to go through his inventory. He tossed the flashlight in favor of a change of clothes. Afterward, he set the back pack aside and flopped onto the bottom bunk.

"Okay, guys. Time for lights out."

""Wait a minute. Where do I sleep?"

"Oh, sorry about that," Luigi apologized. "There aren't many places to sleep here. We only have enough room for Pinky and Purpley. I'm afraid that you and the others will have to go back to the S.S. Garlic. I'll be there first thing in the morning. Okay?"

"That's kinda lame, but I understand. Good night then."

"Hey, Pinky," said Mario. "You can sleep on the top bunk. I'm not going to bed right away though. I have some reading to do."

After everyone left, Luigi, Purpley and Pinky settled down to sleep. Mario grabbed the Plumber's Log, turned the bedroom light off and went into the kitchen.

"I'd better start right at the beginning," Mario thought he sat down at the table and opened the book to the first page.

Unfortunately, Mario didn't find any useful information during the first half hour. He picked the book up, turned the kitchen light off and clicked on the desk light in the bedroom where he continued the research. He was still unable to find anything of interest however and considered going to bed.

Suddenly, a small voice broke the silence. "Mario?"

"What is it, Purpley?" Mario grumbled. "I'm busy trying to get some info on Wart right now."

"What's this?"

Mario looked up from the pages and toward where he heard Purpley's voice. She was in bed with Luigi and had her head on his chest the way she often did.

"What's what?"

"What's this sound?"

Mario didn't hear anything unusual, so he got out of his seat to have a quick look. He tiptoed up to her and listened. In actuality, he simply had to look at her to answer her query.

"Well, you see, Purpley," Mario said, trying to hold back a chuckle. "That is Luigi's heart."

"Hmmm..." the yoshi murmured. "His heart, huh? Is it like a heart fruit?"

This new question dumbfounded Mario. There was no way she and the other yoshis knew anything about human anatomy. So how can he answer this?

"Maybe. I suppose it could anyway. I don't see why not..."

"Do you have a heart too?"

"Of course, Purpley. You do too. Everybody does."

"Everybody? Even bad guys...like Wart?"

That was another tough question. One that Mario doesn't have an answer to. He tried his best to find one, but he simply couldn't. Even if he found it, Purpley would've never heard it. She had already been lulled to sleep by the steady rhythm of Luigi's heart...


	24. Taking a Gamble

Chapter XXIV: Taking a Gamble

Luigi woke up the next morning and stretched out. He was a bit used to sleeping on the S.S. Garlic and almost forgot where he was. But it came back to him and he got out of bed. He was about to go to the kitchen when he noticed that Mario left the Plumber's Log open on the desk.

"Let's see here..." Luigi said as he took a peek at it. "'Entry number 1014. We were traveling in a strange land called Turtlevania. Somebody had pulled the plug on the big bathtub in the sky, and we were soaked!' Must be where Mario quit..."

Luigi went into the kitchen and helped himself to a bowl of cereal. He was halfway finished with the meal when Mario showed up.

"Hey there, Mario," Luigi said cheerfully. "This oughta be a great day for egg-hunting."

"That's nice..." Mario mumbled.

"Is something wrong? Have any luck finding some info?"

Mario sighed. "I found a little bit, but I'm not really sure if it can be considered helpful."

"What's up?"

"Well, one page mentioned that Wart put a curse on me at some point in time and we had to go to a place called Subcon to defeat him."

"You were cursed?!" Luigi said in shock.

"I don't understand it myself. I can't even find any records of battling him. I'm pretty sure I would've written something about it."

"That's too bad..."

After everyone woke up and ate breakfast, Luigi and his friends walked to the Toad Town Port where the S.S. Garlic was ready to set sail. They boarded the ship and found the rest of the party in the kitchen. Wario and Waluigi ate while they watched Amy, Oshi and Yosheta play a card game.

"Welcome back, Luigi!" said Amy, who was wearing her 1-Up shirt today.

"Grazie, Chicky."

"What the heck are you doing?" Mario pointed to the yoshis playing cards. "Yoshis can't read!"

"Oh. We're playing Uno," Amy explained. "I brought along this really neat deck that I got last month. Besides, even yoshis can match colors and numbers. They have a little trouble with the special cards though..."

"Lemme see those," Luigi said when the round was over. He scooped up the deck and looked at the cards. They had a pictures of Mario, Luigi and other Mushroom Kingdom celebrities on them.

"Aren't we fancy?" Mario laughed when he took a peek.

"I gotta go get this thing started," Wario said as he got up from his seat. "But refresh my memory. We're going to Rogueport, right?"

"That's right."

"Aye." Wario left to do his duties.

"Anyway, mind if I join in?"

"No problem." Amy smiled and dealt everyone seven cards.

Rogueport wasn't very far from the Mushroom Kingdom, so the trip was short. Since everyone was having fun playing cards, the trip seemed even shorter.

"Attention passengers!" Wario announced. "We are now arriving at Rogueport!"

"Wow. That was quick," said Mario.

"So who won?" Oshi asked Amy.

"I wasn't keeping track of score. I thought that might be a bit too advanced for you guys."

"Are you sure you weren't too busy swooning over the One cards?" Luigi smirked. "I know I look good in that picture, but show some self-control!"

Amy felt a little embarrassed. "Well, I guess that might be true."

Luigi and company left the S.S. Garlic and walked up a flight of stairs to the main plaza of Rogueport. Rogueport was a fairly large town, but it is a little run-down and filled with shady characters. Traveling through here in a group is highly recommended.

"I've got a bit of ground to cover," Luigi mused. "So where do I start...?

"I have two words for you: Trouble Center," Mario declared.

"No way. That thing doesn't work."

"What makes you say that? Did something go wrong for you?"

Luigi gave Mario a subtle shove and a dirty look. "Oh...I think you know..."

Mario was oblivious, however. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Do the words 'I want to see Luigi' mean anything to you?"

"Oh, yeah. Well...you see..."

"It clearly said 'Luigi.' Not 'guy dressed up as Luigi.' Didn't it?"

Mario started to back away from the increasingly angry little brother.

"Answer me!"

"Of course...but..."

"So you decided to dress up as me, claim the reward for yourself and make me look like an idiot?!"

"Did you really do that, Mario?" Purpley asked. "That's just mean!"

"Hey! I told you I was sorry, okay? Besides, the cake she gave me tasted lousy..."

"WHAT?!"

Luigi gave Mario a rather rough shove this time and Mario shoved him right back. This turned into a shoving match.

"This region is weird," Wario said while looking in _The World of Plit_.

"What's up, Wario?" Amy tried to get a peek at the book.

"There's a city in the sky, a black and white forest, a town that's always dark... This could be tough."

Pinky and Purpley were worried that the brothers would harm each other during their scuffle and tried to break it up.

"You listen to me, Mario!" Luigi shouted as Purpley held him back. "You get your butt back to the ship right now and study! I can handle this on my own!"

Mario made no attempt to object. After telling Pinky to release him, he quietly walked back to the harbor.

"Actually, I can handle this on my own if I had a clue on where to look. C'mon, guys. Let's get started."

Luigi and his party walked around Rogueport and asked everyone they saw if they knew anything about yoshi eggs in the area. Nobody claimed that they did, but it may be possible that the ruffians were hiding something. After all, Rogueport isn't exactly the friendliest neighborhood. Eventually, Luigi made his way to the west side of town where the Pianta Parlor was.

"Maybe I should take a quick break," Luigi thought. "I suppose it's still early in the day."

Luigi stepped to up the door of the parlor where he was confronted by Rocko, a yellow Pianta that worked as a bouncer.

"What do you think you're doing here? Plumber scum aren't allowed here!"

Luigi was surprised by this behavior. Before he could say anything, Rocko picked him up and tossed him onto the street.

"Are you okay?" Purpley asked as she helped Luigi up.

Luigi dusted himself off. "That's weird. I've always been able to go in there before..."

"Maybe security got stepped up since then?" Waluigi shrugged.

"Something seems really shady about this. I believe I've got just the thing to get me inside though. It's on the S.S. Garlic. You guys stay in the garden over there. I'll be right back."

Although Rogueport is a bit of a bleak place, there is a nice little garden in this area filled with green grass and pretty flowers as well as a water fountain. Luigi's friends relaxed there while Luigi left to get something at the ship.

A few minutes later, Luigi returned with a completely new look. He wore a very nice tuxedo with a cute green bowtie. He also took his hat off for the time being, revealing his brown and slightly messy hair. The party watched him with interest, especially the girls.

"Wow," Amy swooned. "That's hot."

"He kinda looks like Blacky now," Purpley giggled.

Luigi strutted up to the Pianta Parlor, only to be blocked by Rocko again.

"Who are you and what do you want?" the Pianta demanded.

"The name's Luigi Mario," the hero said confidently. "And I...AM...A PIMP!"

Rocko was impressed by the newcomer, but he was still skeptical. "Well, you talk the talk, but where's your hat? All pimps gotta have one."

"I don't need one. I'm such a handsome devil that if I did have one, all the other pimps would be jealous."

"Too much of a good thing, eh? Well put. Come on in." Rocko stepped to the side and allowed Luigi to enter.

The Pianta Parlor had undergone some changes since Luigi's last visit which was during the Crystal Star incident. A few card tables were put in along with a sound system for playing snazzy music. Of course, the blue pipe near the service counter that lead to physical games such as races was still there.

As Luigi looked around, he perked up his ears and tried to do a little eavesdropping. His attention was caught by a Toad and a Koopa Troopa to his left.

"Feh! Get out of my sight until you can play like a man!" the Toad shouted.

Luigi watched the Koopa leave in disgust.

"Hey!" the Toad continued. "You with the unkempt hair! What are you lookin' at?!"

You talking to me?" Luigi asked, pretending to be surprised.

"Yeah, you."

"T'was just looking around. Seen any yoshi eggs around here at all?"

"Do I look like a blasted lost and found to you? Sheesh. A pretty boy like you ought to know better than to barge into a fine joint like this and ask stupid questions."

"So how about it?"

"Argh! Why, you-!"

The Toad lost his temper and tried to mug Luigi. However, he was stopped by an aqua-colored Boo with kitty ears named Lahla. Normally Luigi despised Boos, but he was well aware that this one worked here and would not give him any trouble.

"For goodness sake, Todd!" Lahla scolded. "Quit harassing everyone that sets foot in here, will ya?!"

Todd Toad calmed down a little. "Hmph. Very well. We'll settle this like men. What's your game? Black Jack?"

"That's child's play," Luigi taunted.

"Roulette?"

"If I wanted to watch balls bounce around, I'd go to a basketball game."

"Then what is your game?"

"Poker." Luigi reached into a pocket in his tuxedo and pulled out a special deck of cards. "Picture Poker."

"You don't say? I don't believe I've heard of that one before. How do you play?"

"Well, it's a bit like poker..." Luigi began. He shuffled the deck and explained the rules of the game. He even showed Todd a small chart just to make everything clear. He dealt five cards to Todd and five to himself.

Luigi looked at his hand carefully. He had two Marios, two mushrooms and a flower. He held everything but the flower. Todd held only two cards. After he got the unwanted cards out of the way, Luigi dealt three cards to Todd and one to himself. Then both players revealed their hands.

"Ooh. Tough luck," Luigi smirked.

The new card Luigi got was another Mario, making his hand a full house. Todd's hand was two Luigis, two clouds and a mushroom. This means Luigi was the victor.

"Why you dirty, cheating-!" Todd growled and tried to attack Luigi again.

Lahla showed up to stop him. "Stop being a sore loser! I watched the whole thing. He won fair and square. So give the man what he wanted!"

"Fine. I don't even care anymore. I'll tell you everything I know, so you better open up those ears."

"I'm listening..."

"North of here is a forest called Boggly Woods. There is a huge tree there that some tiny creatures called Punis live. There's a girl, I believe her name is Petuni, that collects eggs and gives them away to anyone that asks her a certain question. If I were you, I'd head over there and check it out. She might have the egg you seem to be looking for. Got it?"

"Big tree in Boggly Woods. Ask girl Puni about egg," Luigi summarized. "Got it. Grazie."

"You be careful out there now," Todd warned. "Not everyone goes easy on pretty faces like yours."

Luigi left the Pianta Parlor and told his awaiting friends about what happened and where the next destination was.

"Good for you, Luigi!" Waluigi cackled. "You finally figured out that cheaters always win! Heheheh!"

"Waluigi, I can assure you that I didn't cheat," Luigi said firmly.

"Oh... Well, good for you anyway."

"Okay, everyone. I found Boggly Woods in the book," said Wario. "It's north of here. I guess it doesn't really matter though because the only way to leave town is by using the warp pipes in the sewers. As for getting down there, we can either use the pipe that is east of the plaza or try to go down that grate right over there. I think we'd better go for the pipe."

Luigi nodded. "I see. Well, let's go back to the S.S. Garlic for a moment before we head out."

The party returned to the harbor and boarded the ship. Luigi and Purpley went into their cabin.

"Why did we come back here?" Purpley asked. "We know where to go."

"True, but I need to switch back to my normal outfit. I may look good in this, but it's just not the sort of thing to wear on an adventure. Now would you please go outside so I can have a little privacy?"

While Luigi changed his clothes, Wario and Amy went into Mario's cabin to let the older brother know where they were going.

"Boggly Woods?" said Mario. "Well, try not to get lost. There aren't many landmarks there."

Wario and Amy turned to leave the room, but Mario stopped Amy before she could get out the door.

"Huh? What's up, Mario?"

"I almost forgot. I need to tell you what the secret question is..."

When everyone was finished, they left the ship and went into the sewers of Rogueport where they began the search for the sixth yoshi egg.


	25. All Around Rogueport

Chapter XXV: All Around Rogueport

Rumor has it that a Puni in Boggly Woods had the next yoshi egg that Luigi was looking for. Luigi and his friends have gone into the sewers to look for a pipe that would take them there. Unfortunately, they got lost and arrived in what appears to be an underground town.

"Wario, do you have any idea where we're going?" Luigi asked.

"Actually, I don't," Wario admitted. "This map is confusing as heck."

"Are you sure you're not holding it upside-down?"

"Of course! Gah! How dumb do you think I am?"

A nearby Bandit noticed the little argument. "Are you guys lost?"

"Yeah," said Luigi. "I'm trying to get to Boggly Woods."

"Oh. No problem. I know the way there. Go through the doorway over there and take the sliding platform to the pipe, go down the stairs and to the first pipe you see and go through the doorway just a few feet away. It's pretty straight-forward from there."

"Grazie," Luigi thanked the Bandit.

"That guy sure knew what he was talking about," Oshi said as he and the others continued on.

"Well, I guess there's nothing wrong with asking the locals for directions," Luigi pointed out. "I probably should've tried that first."

The gang stopped in its tracks when they got to an obstacle that was never mentioned. The doorway that they had to pass through was blocked by bars. Not even Waluigi could possibly squeeze through them.

"Why did I ever trust a Bandit...?" Luigi grumbled.

"Fear not," Wario boasted. "Behold what my big beefy biceps can do!"

Wario grabbed two of the bars and used his massive muscles to bend them so everyone could walk through.

"Impressive. I'm sure glad you're on our side. Not even Mario can do a stunt like that."

With the path opened, the adventurers continued and entered a nearby wooden pipe which lead them to an oddly-colored forest. The grass was a blue-ish hue, the flowers were pure white and the tree trunks were black.

"Wow..." Yosheta said in awe. "This is weird."

"This has to be the right place," Luigi mused. "Let's keep going. The big tree must be around here somewhere."

Luigi was absolutely right. After a short hike, the party easily found The Great Tree. It is difficult to not notice it due to its sheer size. It stretched toward the sky like a giant tower. Even its roots were taller than most people.

"This thing is huge!" Oshi exclaimed as he gazed at The Great Tree in disbelief.

While the yoshis stood around and marveled at the beauty of mother nature, Luigi and Amy went inside a metal door at the base of the tree. The interior was roomy and comfortable, but Luigi didn't see any Punis around. It was because they feared anything that was more than twice their size, including humans.

"Is anyone home?" Luigi asked. "I need a little help..."

A Puni slowly came out of hiding and skittered up to Luigi. Punis are small bug-like creatures with a single antennae on their heads. This particular Puni had a green ball on the end of his,

"Mario?" the Puni said timidly.

"Luigi, actually. Mario is my bro."

"Oh, hi. I'm Punio. What do you need?"

"I was told to see a girl Puni. She might have an egg that I'm looking for."

"You probably mean my sister, Petuni. I'll go get her for you."

Punio walked away. A moment later, another Puni came up to Luigi. This one was slightly smaller and had a pink ball on the end of her antennae.

"Hello," said Petuni. "Ask me anything."

Luigi became quiet and tried to think of a question. He had to make sure that he asked the right one.

Amy provided a question for him. "Mario likes what person the most?"

"Princess Peach!" Petuni giggled. "Mario likes Peach the most!"

Luigi was shocked. "What?!"

Petuni gave Amy an egg with gray stripes. This can't possibly be what Luigi came for...

"Stripes? Don't you have one with spots?" Luigi asked.

"Um...well..." Petuni said nervously. "I did have one with orange spots. I gave it to some shady guy awhile ago though. I'm sorry. If I knew it was yours, I wouldn't have done that. You probably want to eat me now, so please just keep that egg anyway. Okay?"

Luigi and Amy were very disappointed and didn't say a word. They went back outside where everyone was still gawking at the tree.

"I've got some bad news, guys," Luigi frowned. "The egg isn't here."

"What? It isn't?" Oshi asked.

"It turns out that Petuni gave it away. She said that she gave it to some shady guy. In this region though, it could be anyone."

Wario cracked open _The World of Plit_ to find some answers. "Hey. It says here that Twilight Town and the people that live there are always dark. Shady can mean dark, so..."

"I see what you're getting at. I suppose Twilight Town is worth a shot."

Luigi and friends turned around and went back the way they came. Wario still had trouble reading the map, so they retraced their steps to the underground town and asked the Bandit there for directions to their new destination.

"Twilight Town?" said the Bandit. "I have no idea what you folks are up to, but I guess I'll tell you how to get there anyway. It's not far from here."

The path was short and simple, but it also involved a long jump. It wasn't a big deal for Luigi and the yoshis, but everyone else had to hitch a ride on a yoshi. The party found a brown pipe and hopped in. They now found themselves in a dark and eerie town.

"How did it get so late already?" Amy asked. "We weren't even underground that long, were we?"

"It's Twilight Town, all right," Luigi said matter-of-factly. "It's always dusk here."

"Hmm..." Waluigi mused. "I like darkness and all, but I'm not sure if I'd want to live in a place that's always dark. If you think about it, it's kinda depressing. Then again..."

While Waluigi contemplated on if he liked the town or not, everyone else spread out and asked the residents if they knew anything about the yoshi egg. Purpley tried the local item shop that was run by a married couple.

"An egg with orange spots, you say?" said the husband. "Sure. I've seen one."

"You have?" Purpley smiled.

"Yup. I had one for awhile, but then I sold it to some pig fellow."

Purpley's smile faded. "Oh... Well, thanks anyway."

After leaving the shop, Purpley looked around for Luigi so she could tell him the news. She found him at the mayor's house.

"Hey, Luigi," she began. "I found the guy that had the egg, but...well... He doesn't have it now. He said he sold it to a pig."

"A pig?" Luigi said skeptically. "Weird. I didn't know there were pigs around here. Why would a pig want an egg anyway?"

"Maybe we should ask Wario if he knows anything, huh?"

Luigi and Purpley went to the warp pipe where the others were waiting for them.

"Does _The World of Plit_ say anything about pigs in this region?" Luigi asked Wario.

The navigator flipped through the pages of the book, but found nothing. "Sorry, buddy. It's no good. I hate to say it, but we probably need Mario's help on this one."

"I see." Luigi shrugged. "I guess it's back to the S.S. Garlic for us. I suppose it's about lunch time anyway..."

Luigi and the rest of his party climbed into the pipe, returned to Rogueport and made their way back to Wario's ship. When they got on board, Luigi tried to enter Mario's cabin, but the door was locked from the inside. Luigi knocked on the door instead.

"Hey!" Mario snapped. "I'm sorry about the request, okay?! So leave me alone!"

"I need a little help and..." Luigi hesitated for a moment. "I'm sorry too..."

After he heard Luigi apologize, Mario got up from his reading, unlocked the door and let him in.

"Research isn't going too well," Mario sighed. "I'm up to the point when we took a vacation in Dinosaur Land and met Yoshi. So what brings you back here? You said you needed help?"

"I was told that a pig has the egg. But I've never seen pigs around here and _The World of Plit_ doesn't say anything about it either. Do you have any ideas?"

"Good thing you came to me. I know exactly where one is."

Luigi was a little surprised. "You do? Where?"

"There's a hot dog stand in Glitzville run by a guy named Mr. Hoggle. I bet he's who you are looking for. Here. You'd better take this."

Mario reached into the pocket of his overalls and pulled out a ticket, then he gave it to Luigi.

"The only way up there is by the Cheep Cheep Blimp," the older brother continued. "This ticket should get you on there with no problem." Mario's voice took on a darker tone. "I suggest you hurry though. If you don't find him soon, your friend is going to be fried and served on a hot dog!"

Heeding Mario's advice, Luigi quickly left without even telling anyone where he was going. He headed to the Rogueport Station where the blimp to Glitzville was docked. Luigi used the ticket Mario gave him to get on board and the ride went swimmingly. The blimp dropped him off at Glitzville as planned and Luigi looked around.

"Now let's see..." Luigi thought. "Mario said to look for a hot dog stand. Ah. That must be it." Luigi spotted the hot dog stand between the souvenir shop and the famous Glitz Pit Arena.

"Holy crap!" said a passerby. "It's the Great Gonzales!"

"Huh?"

Everyone in the area suddenly swarmed around Luigi, much to his utter confusion.

"He's back!"

"Can I have your autograph?!"

"Can I touch your hammer?!"

"Can I have a lock of hair?!"

"What the heck?" Luigi growled.

Luigi was annoyed and had a mission to take care of. He busted out his hammer and used it to swat everyone away. After breaking up the crowd, he ran to the hot dog stand.

"Hello there, you customer," said the pig-like Mr. Hoggle. "Would you like one of my famous hot dogs? Only ten coins each."

"Hmm. Tempting, but that's not way I'm here," Luigi said importantly. "Do you happen to have an egg with orange spots?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I've sold it already. See, I was going to use it for a recipe, but I couldn't crack it open. So I swindled a Bob-omb into buying it. I made a nice profit too."

Now Luigi was just plain frustrated. He began to stomp off toward the blimp, but he had second thoughts and came back.

"Actually, I hate to leave empty-handed and I am hungry right now. I'll take two, please."

"Certainly. Here you go."

Mr. Hoggle served Luigi two hot dogs and he paid twenty coins. Luigi got back on the blimp before the crowd could bother him again. Luigi ate both of the hot dogs on the ride back to Rogueport. Afterward, Luigi high-tailed it to the S.S. Garlic.

Mario was still working on his research when Luigi entered his room. "So how did it go?" he asked.

"Well, I've got some good news and some bad news," Luigi replied.

"Oh? What's up?"

"The good news is the egg didn't get cooked. The bad news is that it was sold to a Bob-omb. Now where do I look?"

"There is a village in the area with nothing but Bob-ombs. I believe it was called Fahr Outpost. I think...? Ugh. I think I gave myself a headache from reading that blasted book. I need a break..."

Luigi left as Mario lied down in bed. He went to the kitchen where everyone was passing the time by chatting with each other. Wario was once again flipping through the pages of _The World of Plit_.

"Hey, Wario. The egg changed places again."

"Oy..." Wario shook his head. "Need me to look up a new location?"

"Yeah. See if there's a village of Bob-ombs."

"Sure thing. Ah. There it is right here. Fahr Outpost. Oh, looks like it's in a snowy area though. You're probably not gonna like that.

Luigi looked at the page. Though Fahr Outpost was indeed a cold area, it was also a rather small area. Plus, the pipe that lead to it was right near the one that went to Twilight Town.

"Bah. I thought I was done with the white stuff. I guess this looks easy enough though. I'm not going alone either. Who wants to join me?"

Amy, Purpley and Oshi offered to come. The quartet departed and went into the Rogueport Sewers where they easily found the pipe to Fahr Outpost. Luigi was a bit displeased that he had to go through some snow at first, but this time he wasn't famished and he had company. The path to town was also short. The only real obstacle were the Frost Piranhas that occasionally attacked. They were no match for Luigi's firepower however and he was able to reach his destination.

Now in town, Luigi and friends asked each of the Bob-ombs that lived there if they knew about the egg. The Bob-ombs all looked very similar though and they often made the mistake of asking some of them multiple times. Luckily, they were able to find the right one.

"An egg you say? KA-BOOM!" said a Bob-omb that Luigi talked to. "I had one with orange spots. KER-BLAM! I lost it on the way home. KA-POW! Sorry."

"You lost it?!" Luigi fumed. "I ran around Rogueport all day and you lost it?!"

"Huh? What's wrong, Luigi?" Purpley asked when she heard Luigi yelling.

Luigi felt defeated and sighed. "It's over. I simply can't find it..."


	26. Sixth Egg Secured

Chapter XXVI: Sixth Egg Secured

After being told that the orange yoshi egg was lost, Luigi had given up on looking for it. He was laying in bed on the S.S. Garlic now. His friends tried to cheer him up, but it seemed to do little good. Even Mario put his research on hold so he could talk Luigi out of giving up.

"You were so close! You can't give up now!" Oshi pleaded.

"This isn't over yet. There's some places you haven't tried," Wario pointed out.

"C'mon, Luigi. This isn't like you," said Amy. "I mean, Marios don't give up. Right?"

"Seems to me that you've forgotten that you're not doing this alone," Mario chimed in. "I'm sure we can do this if we split up and check out the areas you haven't hit yet."

Everyone's message got through to Luigi. The yoshi leader sat up in bed and looked at his friends. "You guys are right. The clock is ticking away and I'm getting ticked off. So let's get going!"

"I suppose it's time I started doing something productive," Mario said as he took _The World of Plit_ from Wario. "Lemme see if I can plan out some searching routes."

Everyone huddled around the book with Mario and carefully looked at the maps of the Rogueport area.

"Okay," Mario continued. "The way I see it, we still need to check out Petal Meadows, Keelhaul Key and Poshley Heights. There's also the Thousand Year Door and the Pit of a Hundred Trials, but those areas are very dangerous and I highly doubt anybody would go there anyway. Now then, pick where you want to look."

After mulling over the options, Luigi and Purpley picked Poshley Heights. Wario, Oshi and Yosheta chose Keelhaul Key. Waluigi, Amy and Pinky go for Petal Meadows.

"What about you?" Luigi asked Mario.

"I'd love to go out and look too, but there's still the little matter of reading."

"Oh..."

Before everyone left, Mario gave them directions to the warp pipes that would take them to the locations that they needed to go. He also instructed them to report back in an hour.

The group consisting of Waluigi, Amy and Pinky went to Petal Meadows and poked through the flower patches. Amy and Pinky both noticed a butterfly flutter by.

"Do you like butterflies, Chicky?" Pinky giggled.

"I'll be honest. This is the first time I've seen a real one," Amy replied.

"Really? We have lots of them on Yoshi's Island."

"I'm sure you do. But I live in an underwater city. We don't have any there. We have gardens and such, but the only bugs we have are honeybees to pollinate the flowers."

"Huh... That's weird."

"Hey, girls!" Waluigi snapped at the two when he saw them talking. "Shut up and look for the egg!"

"Now that I think about it, maybe I should import some butterflies," said Amy. "It might liven the place up. I'll have to ask mother about it."

Pinky nodded. "Sounds like a good idea to me."

"Get back to work or I'm reporting you to Luigi!"

Meanwhile, the second party which contained Wario, Oshi and Yosheta scoured Keelhaul Key. The yoshis discovered a tree that bore fruit that they were not familiar with.

"Hey, Wario," Yosheta called over to the fat human. "What kind of fruit is this?"

Wario came over to investigate. "I think that's a mango."

"It looks pretty tasty." Oshi used his long tongue to snatch the fruit off its branch and gulped it down. "Mmmm! It IS tasty!"

Yosheta tried one herself, but she wasn't as impressed as Oshi. "It's not bad, but watermelons are still my favorite."

"Hurry up!" Wario huffed. "We came here to look for an egg, not to taste test treats!"

The trio walked through a thick jungle and crossed a rope bridge. They eventually came to an entrance of a cavern. Right next to it were a couple of large rocks. The rocks had some rather interesting markings that made them resemble Mario and Luigi.

"Check this out, Yosheta!" Oshi said to his friend. "This rock looks like Luigi!"

The girl yoshi chuckled. "Wow! It kinda does!"

"That's uncanny," Wario remarked. "I wonder if it means we're onto something."

The third group, which was only Luigi and Purpley, searched around the fancy town of Poshley Heights. They asked each of the residents there about the egg, but many of them were a bit snooty and ignored them.

While Purpley checked out Poshley Sanctum, Luigi noticed a Toad near the fountain. He wasn't sure if he wanted to talk to her. The Toad in question was Toadia, the secretary of the Luigi Fan Club...or so she says. This just so happened to be the Toad that Luigi and Mario argued about this morning. In the past, she had asked to see Luigi and Mario came to her dressed in green. Luigi also came to honor the request, but Toadia accused him of being a fake. Luigi wasn't too pleased about that and believed that someone that can't even recognize him should not be in a fan club for him, let alone be the secretary of it.

Instead of speaking to her, Luigi kept his distance and glared at her for a moment. Then he got an evil idea. When Toadia had her back to him, he snuck up to her and hurled her right into the fountain! Toadia screamed and struggled to get out as Luigi chuckled to himself and casually walked away. Luigi is usually a nice fellow, but even he can have a bit of a mean streak sometimes.

When Purpley left the Sanctum, she noticed Toadia splashing about in the water.

"Help me!" Toadia screamed. "The fish are biting me!"

"Um... Shouldn't you help her?" Purpley asked Luigi.

Luigi looked at Toadia for a second. "Nope," he said flatly. "She got herself in that mess, she can get out of it too. Not that she's in any real trouble anyway."

"Oh. Well, I didn't find anything in that place either."

"Nothing? Let's take another quick look around here before we go back."

Luigi and Purpley walked toward the inn. Luigi noticed something that he didn't before. There was a new building that wasn't there the last time he was in town. He and Purpley went inside where they were met by all sorts of small animals. Birds chirped noisily, hamsters scurried around in their cages and fish swam lazily in their tanks.

"Hey, neat. It's a pet shop," said Luigi.

Purpley watched the critters for a moment while Luigi looked for the shopkeeper. He found him counting the money in the cash register. The shopkeeper was a human with blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Good day, sir," the shopkeeper greeted Luigi. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I'm not interested in buying anything. I'm just-" Luigi stopped in mid-sentence.

Luigi and the shopkeeper studied each other for a few minutes. Something about this guy was very familiar to Luigi.

"Nicky?" Luigi asked. "Nicky Sugimori?"

"Oh! Hi there! I remember you!"

A few years ago, a couple of zookeepers tried to catch the yoshis in Luigi's herd. They both seemed to be evil at first, but one of them, Nicky, was simply a mislead person that happened to be an animal lover. Luigi spared him and suggested that he had a career change.

"Wow. It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Luigi asked. "How are things working out for you?"

"Great!" Nicky beamed. "I took your advice and opened up my own pet shop as you can see. I'm so happy right now."

"How's what's-her-face-doing?"

"You mean my sister Vicky? She jumped off a cliff and died."

Luigi stared at Nicky in shock. Vicky was the other zookeeper and although Luigi got very angry with her, he would never wish death upon her or anyone else.

"I'm just kidding! The truth is, I never saw her again after you sent her flying. But we're getting quite off topic. You must have some reason to come in here."

Luigi got down to business. "You're right. Have you seen an egg with orange spots before?"

"Excuse me for a moment," Nicky said politely as he went into the back room. When he returned, he was holding the egg. "Would this be it?"

"Whoa! It is! Where did you find that?"

"I was putting up advertisements for my shop in other towns when I noticed the poor thing stuck in some snow. It certainly wasn't going to hatch in the cold, so I brought it here and I've been keeping an eye on it. I'd love to see what comes out, but you were probably looking for it for some time. Here you go. No need to pay for it. Just take good care of it."

Nicky gave the egg to Luigi, but the hero was so excited that he almost dropped it. After thanking Nicky, Luigi looked around the shop for Purpley and found her watching some colorful tropical fish swim about.

"Pretty, aren't they?" Purpley asked when Luigi approached.

"Well, yeah," said Luigi. "But look what I found here."

Purpley squealed with joy when she saw the egg in Luigi's gloved hands.

The pair left the pet shop and were about to go to the warp pipe when Luigi stopped.

"What's up, Luigi?"

"Nothing. I'm just gonna stop at the pasta vendor real quick and grab some dinner."

After purchasing some Fresh Pasta, Luigi and Purpley went in the warp pipe and returned to the S.S. Garlic where their fellow egg-hunters were waiting.

"So what's the verdict, guys?" Mario asked when his brother arrived. "Any luck?"

Amy felt a little embarrassed. "I didn't see it in Petal Meadows. I guess I got distracted by all the cute insects there."

"I asked everyone in the town there, but no one had it," said Pinky, who was holding what looked like an herb. "I found this though. Is it any good to eat?"

Mario took it from her. "Hmm. A Horsetail, huh? It might make a tasty snack if I cook it."

Waluigi shrugged. "I looked in Shhwonk Fortress. What a whole lot of nothing."

"I didn't see it in Keelhaul Key either," Oshi reported. "I found out that mangos are really yummy though."

"I checked out the cave there," said Wario. "I hate to say it, but it was pretty rough in there. Too rough."

Yosheta rubbed her tail. "He's not kidding. Ow."

"Well, Luigi..." Purpley grinned.

Luigi held up the orange-spotted egg for all to see. "I lucked out. It was in a pet shop in Poshley Heights. Who knew Nicky would actually take my advice?"

Mario gave Luigi a thumbs-up. "Awesome! See what happens when you don't give up?"

"Incidentally, did anyone see Wart at all?" Luigi asked. "He's been quiet lately."

"Maybe he decided to give up after you beat so many of his guys?" Oshi guessed.

"That would be nice, but I don't think so," Mario said doubtfully. "He might be cooking up something big."

"How many eggs are left anyway, Luigi?" Amy asked.

"I'm not too sure, actually," Luigi answered. "I haven't had a chance to count them."

Amy and the four yoshis followed Luigi to his cabin where he added the egg to his large collection. There can't be too many left to get.

"Okay. Roll call time. There's Redy, Orangey, Yellowy, Bluey, Mini Bluey, Whitey and..."

"Blacky!" Pinky gasped. "He's the only one left!"

"Luigi, you've just got to get Blacky back," said Purpley.

"I intend to," said a determined Luigi. "After all he's done for me..."

Inside Wart's castle, the froggy fiend sat upon his throne once again. Wart gazed at his crystal ball while looking even crankier than usual.

"Blast it," Wart growled. "Robirdo is destroyed and I can't locate Mouser. I don't understand. How can this be happening? Where did I go wrong? I'm finished..."

Tryclyde silently slithered up to its master. The left head held something in its mouth.

"I know you are depressssed, massster," said the right head. "But I wasss out earlier..."

"And found sssomething that ssshould cheer you up, yesss," the middle head finished.

Tryclyde edged closer to Wart and the left head dropped a some-what round object with spots on it into his hands.

Wart was surprised, but remained calm. "I see. Let me tell you something, Tryclyde. I always believed you were more reliable than Mouser."


	27. The Missing Clue

Chapter XXVII: The Missing Clue

It was a rough day, but Luigi was finally able to find the sixth yoshi egg. He and the others spent the evening discussing their plans for tomorrow while eating dinner; the spaghetti that Luigi bought with a hint of the Horsetail Pinky found over it.

"Thanks for buying dinner tonight, Luigi," Wario said gratefully. "I didn't think you'd actually do something like that."

"Hey, I try to keep my word," Luigi smiled. "Hey, Mario. Did you ever figure out anything?"

Mario sighed. "No luck. I've read everything up to the point where I fought Smithy, but there still isn't any useful info."

"Smithy? Who's that?"

"The guy with the weapons factory. He busted up Bowser's castle with a huge sword. Oh. You weren't even around when all that happened, huh?"

"Whatever. I'm only interested in Wart, not Smithy. Wario, have you got anything to report?"

"Nothing new," Wario stated. "We'll have to check out the Waffle Kingdom next."

"I'm not sure if I can completely agree with that," Mario contested. "It's not like we've even checked out the Mushroom Kingdom yet. It's a pretty big area, so I think that chances are pretty good there."

Luigi shook his head. "I don't think it's that easy, Mario. Why would Wart put one so close to home? By that logic, he might as well leave one of the eggs on Yoshi's Island. He's smarter than that."

"That might not be such a bad idea actually," Waluigi pointed out. "One way to hide something it to put it with a bunch of other things that look like it. Just think about it. If you happen to grab the wrong egg, you'd have a mad mama yoshi come after you!"

The argument raged on for a long time. Wario wanted to go to the Waffle Kingdom. Mario insisted that they go back to the Mushroom Kingdom. Waluigi thought that they should return to Yoshi's Island. Poor Luigi didn't know what to do. He had no interest in going to the Waffle Kingdom and believed that there was no chance that the egg could be in the Mushroom Kingdom or on Yoshi's Island. But what other options were there?

"Are you sure we can't go to the Waffle Kingdom?" Purpley asked Luigi. "We must get Blacky back."

While the others continued to argue, Luigi closed his eyes and tried to think. "Okay, guys," Luigi said at last. "I have an idea. We'll go to the Waffle Kingdom on one condition. Mario and I switch places."

"How so?" Mario asked.

"You go look for the egg while I try to dig up some info on Wart."

"I suppose that's fair enough. You've been working hard. You deserve a break."

"Then it's confirmed. You guys look for the egg at the Waffle Kingdom while I stay behind and do some research. Perhaps later on you'll see why I really don't like that place."

"Aye," said Wario. "I'll begin sailing there right away."

With the matter settled, Luigi went into Mario's cabin and grabbed the Plumber's Log, then he went into his own cabin.

"Is Mario really having such a hard time with this?" Luigi thought as he set the book down on the table and laid down in bed. "Or is he actually hiding something from me...?"

Unfortunately, Luigi's mind was full and he had difficulty getting to sleep. He tossed and turned, but he just couldn't seem to get comfortable. It was a long and frustrating night for him.

The next morning, Luigi reluctantly got out of bed and went to the kitchen. He noticed that everyone had gone off to the Waffle Kingdom already. Luigi grabbed some toast and a glass of orange juice and brought them to his room. After he ate breakfast, he opened the Plumber's Log to the first page and began to read...

About half an hour later, Purpley and Amy entered Luigi's cabin. Amy wore one of her tie-dye shirts today.

"Huh? What are you two doing here?" Luigi asked. "I thought you all went to look for the egg."

"We did," Purpley answered. "Well, we did for a little awhile anyway."

"We went with them to the Strudel Continent, but then we thought that you might want a little company," Amy added.

"I see. If you're gonna be here, please keep it quiet. I'm trying to study."

"Will do," the girls agreed.

"Now let's see..." Luigi thought as he continued to read. "'We finally found the real King Koopa in the eighth castle and defeated him. After rescuing Princess Toadstool and freeing her people, a celebration party was held in our honor and we were dubbed the Super Mario Bros. I'm a bit disappointed that Luigi and I never found a way back home, but I suppose the Mushroom Kingdom isn't so bad. If I need some mushrooms for my tomato sauce, I know where to look.' Huh. Mario has a strange writing style. Whatever. Next entry. 'King Koopa captured the princess again and it was up to me and Luigi to track him down once more. We haven't gotten far, but things are much more challenging this time. Heck, I already ate a poison mushroom by mistake!' This can't be it..."

Luigi got pretty involved with his reading after awhile. In fact, he was so focused that he was really surprised when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Luigi whipped around to see who it was. It was just Mario.

"Gah! Don't do that!" Luigi shouted. "What are you doing back here anyway?"

"I'm only taking a lunch break and thought I'd check on you. Everything okay?"

"Meh. If I seem like I'm in a bad mood, it's because last night was horrible. I've got to get to the bottom of this..."

"I see. Well, don't push yourself too hard," Mario said wisely.

While Luigi went back to reading, Purpley decided to talk to Amy. She still felt uneasy around her, yet she was also beginning to get used to her.

"You really like Luigi, huh?"

"Well, yeah," Amy answered. "I know you do too. Wait. I think I know what this is about. You feel a little threatened by me because I've been hanging out with him. I can tell by the way you've been, oh, protective of him. As if I was trying to take him away from you."

Purpley gulped. That was exactly what she was thinking. The way Amy put it made her feel like she had been treating her like a jerk.

"Let me assure you that you've got me wrong. As much as I'd like to have Luigi, I wanted to give him back to his family and friends such as yourself."

"I...uh..." Purpley said nervously. Now she just felt horrible. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Don't worry. I'm not mad. Besides, you're my favorite color. So how about we be buds too?"

That made Purpley happy. She always liked getting new friends.

Luigi listened to the conversation with interest. He wasn't aware that Purpley distrusted Amy, but he was glad that they were getting along now. Once the girls went to swim in the pool, he went back to the research.

"'I had a really strange dream last night. I was climbing this long staircase. When I got to the top, there was a big red door and I opened it. A voice told me that I just entered a land called Subcon. I had been brought here because someone called Wart put a curse on me and I had to journey through this land and defeat him to remove it. It also mentioned that Wart, whoever this guy is, hates vegetables. I woke up after that. I'm feeling edgy right now and considering telling Luigi about this. I doubt there's anything he can do, but I feel like I need to let somebody know about this..' Interesting. This must be what I'm looking for."

Luigi continued to read the Plumber's Log, hoping that he found the right entry. Alas, the lack of sleep finally sunk in. The next thing he knew, Mario was gently shaking him awake...

"Luigi," Mario said softly. "Hey, Luigi. You okay, li'l bro?"

Luigi groaned as he woke up. "Huh? What happened?"

"Oh. There you go. I was worried for a moment there."

"You're back again? Did you find anything?"

Mario shook his head. "You know, I think you're right about that place. This is probably going to sound really harsh, but the Waffle Kingdom does kinda suck. There's no charm whatsoever."

"You must've done a number on those people!" Wario hooted. "Merely mentioning you struck fear in the hearts of everyone there. That's pretty cool."

"But how about that Princess Eclair?" Waluigi grinned. "Man! That is one hot ba-"

In a strange little twist of fate, Wario gave Waluigi a nice solid bonk right on the noggin. "Quiet, you!"

Luigi was pleased that Wario did that. He had a handful of bad experiences in the Waffle Kingdom and his meeting with Princess Eclair was one of them. The last thing he needed was his rival talking about her.

"Let's see where you left off," Mario said as he grabbed the Plumber's Log. "'I picked up the glass orb and expected the hawk head to open up like it always did. But this time it flew straight toward us! It scared Luigi pretty bad and... We were in the land of damsels in distress and knights in shining armor; the legendary Cramalot.' Dang. This is the part that had me confused too."

"I know," Luigi said in an annoyed tone. "It just kinda cuts off and starts with the next adventure. Nice writing there, Mario."

"I can't believe I'd make a mistake like that..."

"Careful, guys!" Amy warned. "This page just fell out of the book. Here you go." Amy picked up the page and handed it to Mario.

"Oh. Thanks, Chicky."

"Wait. Hold it," said Luigi. "Do you think it cut off because a page fell out?"

"That seems plausible. I guess there was a missing piece to this puzzle after all."

"We should go look for it, huh?" Amy asked.

"I can't imagine it went too far," Mario answered. "If it isn't in here or my room, then chances are it's back at home. Wario, would you mind taking us there?"

"I'm not taking orders from you!" Wario snapped.

"Huh?"

"I'm the head honcho here, Mario," Luigi laughed. "But seriously, Wario. We need to go back to Toad Town."

"No sweat. Here I go," Wario said without skipping a beat. He went off to guide the ship.

The Mario Bros. quickly skimmed their cabins for the missing page, but neither of them found it. Afterward, they sat outside and chatted while they watched the ocean waves.

"You know..." Luigi began. "I think I heard someone talking to me again when I was zonked out."

Purpley shivered. "Yikes. That sounds kinda creepy."

"Actually, it sounded like they were in trouble."

Mario was feeling pensive. "Wart might've put a curse on you. I mean, he apparently cursed me before. That's what I wrote anyway. I think you'd better be careful."

"This talk about curses is scaring me," Purpley said before changing the subject. "Did you ever find Blacky, Mario?"

Mario sighed. "I didn't want to be the one to break it to you, but I'm afraid not. We got beat to the punch. I was told that a three-headed snake ran off with it. I don't need to say any more."

"No!" Luigi growled and punched a nearby wall. "Is there nothing we can do?!"

"The only thing we can do is track him down. If he was smart, he would go somewhere that _The World of Plit_ doesn't cover."

Everyone became quiet and tried to think of a solution to the problem at hand. Something had to be done.

The S.S. Garlic eventually reached the destination of Toad Town and everyone got off. Luigi wanted to take care of business quickly and ran to his house. When the others arrived, they saw Luigi sitting on his bed, reading a piece of paper that was found under it.

"You found it!" Mario exclaimed. "What's it say?"

Luigi read the missing page aloud. "'Hid in a corner. I threw some Mushroom Blocks at it and it opened up, letting us through. At the other side was a throne room where the princess and Toad were battling the final enemy; Wart himself. They weren't doing too well, so Luigi and I took their place. There was a machine nearby that spit out veggies...just what we needed! But for some reason, they didn't seem to work on Wart at all. I was about to go down when Luigi got angry and came up with a great plan: hurl the veggies in Wart's mouth every time he opened it to unleash a bubble attack. Luigi managed to defeat Wart easily and he found a vase with a cork in it in the next room. Luigi pulled it out and some fairies, which are also called subcons for some reason, came out and thanked us by throwing a small party. I woke up afterward. I have no clue what that was about. Was it only a dream? I asked Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool about it and they all remembered it. Is it possible that going to Subcon involves sleeping? I'm not positive. Whatever the case is, I've finished another adventure and it's all thanks to my brother and friends.' Huh..."

"Weird. But what does it mean?" Oshi asked.

"For starters," Mario begain to explain. "Wart's only weakness is being force-fed veggies. That would be why Luigi and I couldn't beat him when he had the blue egg."

"Second," Wario continued. "Subcon isn't actually part of Plit. I checked the book, but it was only mentioned in the index of unconfirmed locations."

"Also," Amy added. "That voice Luigi has been hearing in his dreams might be a subcon fairy trying to tell him something."

"Finally," Waluigi concluded. "Luigi was the one that beat the guy. Now he's getting revenge on him by taking out something that he truly treasures. We know what that is, right?"

Luigi, feeling bewildered by all of this, flopped onto his bed and sobbed into his pillow. "My friends... Everything makes sense now! I'm sure Wart has been hiding in Subcon this whole time and that's where Tryclyde took the egg! What am I supposed to do now?!"

"The same thing you do every night," Mario said, giving Luigi a comforting pat on the back. "Sleep."

"I don't think I can. I'm not even tired right now. And I'm not gonna lie. I'm kinda scared."

"Don't worry, Luigi. You'll be fine."

"What makes you so sure, Mario?"

"You're not going through this alone. The way I see it, anyone that you have a good relationship with can come with you to Subcon. In my case, all I had back then was you, Peach and Toad. But right now you've got me and the yoshis. You've only met Chicky a little while ago, so I'm not sure if she can come. Wario is neutral with you, I suppose. And you and Waluigi are rivals for goodness sake. Sorry, guys. That's just how it is."

"Hey...um..." Amy said shyly. "I did save his life, you know."

"No offense taken," Wario muttered.

"Oh, c'mon. It's not like I've been a total jerk to him lately," Waluigi protested.

Luigi wiped away his tears, his expression now showed nothing but determination. "Okay, bro. You've made your point. I'm not gonna be alone. I'll do it. Now if only I can fall asleep..."


	28. The Dream World of Subcon

Chapter XXVIII: The Dream World of Subcon

It was decided that Luigi would have to fall asleep so that he can go to Subcon and confront Wart. It was easier said than done, however, because Luigi just can't seem to nod off.

"Plumber's Log. Two hours in and Luigi is still wide awake," Mario said jokingly.

"That...is not funny," Luigi scowled.

"You'll have to fall asleep eventually," said Waluigi. "And then you'll go to Lala Land. Which is also known as Subcon? Heheheh."

"That's not funny either!"

"This isn't working. Let's give him some warm milk," Wario suggested.

"I think some aromatherapy might do the trick," Amy noted.

"But I don't have any of those candles," Luigi sighed.

"I do. I brought some along. You know, in case you were stressed out or something. Would someone mind lighting it for me?"

"No problem," Mario offered. "Hand one over here, Chicky."

Amy pulled a candle out of her suitcase and gave it to Mario. The older brother lit it using his Firebrand, then placed it near Luigi so he could enjoy the soothing scent. Wario decided to warm up a glass of milk for Luigi, hoping that it would speed up the process. Then everyone left the room.

"You know, I just remembered something," said Purpley. "Didn't Luigi tell us about the time he beat Wart?"

"Yeah. I could've sworn he did," Pinky agreed.

"Now that you mention it, yes. He did," said Mario. "Granted, he was probably just recalling the dream we had and didn't think it was a true story. You guys do tell each other about your dreams, right?"

"Sure."

Mario went back into the bedroom to check on Luigi half an hour later. He was relieved to see that he was sound asleep.

"Okay, guys," Mario said when he returned to the kitchen. "Luigi's sleeping now. Let's go ahead to go to sleep so we can join him."

Sometime later, Luigi awoke from his slumber...or so it would seem. He opened his eyes and saw that he wasn't at home anymore. He found himself on top of a large grassy hill that overlooked a plain that featured a few rivers and waterfalls. Up in the sky was a strange red door floating in mid-air. Luigi stood there and wondered why a door could possibly be there when it suddenly opened...

"Clear a runway!" Mario screamed as he came out and stepped into thin air.

Luigi was deep in thought and didn't even realize what was going on, until Mario landed right on top of him anyway.

"Hey! Get off!" Luigi shouted angrily and shoved Mario off him.

"Sorry about that. I didn't remember that big drop right there."

"Make way for Chicky!" Amy called as she, too, came out of the sky door and plummeted, landing on both brothers.

"This is getting silly!" Luigi snapped. "I'm moving away from that door before I get clobbered a third time."

Soon enough, all four yoshis arrived as well. Luigi got out of the way so none of them fell on him.

"Well then. Is everyone one here?" Mario asked.

"Waluigi isn't here," Oshi pointed out.

"Neither is Wario," Yosheta added

Everyone watched the door for a bit, expecting Wario and Waluigi to come. However, they never showed up.

"I think I was right," Mario theorized. "They're not able to come because they're not exactly buddy-buddy with Luigi."

"Hold on now," Amy spoke up. "They might not even be asleep yet. Isn't Waluigi a bit of a night owl?"

"We can't stick around and see," Luigi said seriously. "We've got to get this done as quickly as possible."

Purpley gazed around at the new land. "So this is Subcon, huh? Looks kinda fun!"

Mario shrugged. "I don't think it will be for long. I'm sure things will turn nightmarish eventually."

And so, Luigi and his friends left the hill and began their journey through the dream world of Subcon. They didn't get far when Pinky spotted some cherries. Subcon is known for its large amount of vegetables, but cherries were also a common sight here.

"Oooh, cherries!" Pinky squealed happily. "They're one of my favorites!"

"What a coincidence," said Mario. "I'm a big fan of them too. Give it here!"

"No way! I saw it first!"

Luigi paid little attention to Mario and Pinky's squabbling over cherries. The only thing that was on his mind right now was rescuing Blacky and he had no intention of letting anything stop him from doing so.

The adventure through Subcon was a long one. After walking the plains, they traveled across a desert, scaled a raging waterfall, trekked over a frozen tundra and climbed through some caverns. It was tough, but using the power of teamwork, the party prevailed. Those that had trouble with some enemies got help from those that were faster or stronger. Those that had difficulty making certain jumps got assistance from those that had better springs.

Up ahead was a large forest. Luigi and friends noticed that it had gotten progressively darker during their trip.

"It's getting a little hard to see," Purpley said after nearly tripping on a rock.

"I thought so too," Amy agreed. "What time do you suppose it is?"

Mario rubbed his chin. "Strange. I'm not sure if day and night pass here like it does on Plit. I don't think it was like this last time."

"Hey!" Yosheta gasped. "What's that over there?"

Just a few yards away was something that looked like a pink yoshi. Everyone slowly walked up to it to have a look.

"It's a Birdo," Mario said as he knelt down and gently shook it. "I think it might be unconscious. I hope the poor thing is alright."

"Oooh..." the Birdo groaned. "What happened...?"

"Hey there. Are you okay?" Luigi asked.

"Luigi? You've finally come?"

"You were expecting me?"

"Yeah. I've got a lot of things I need to tell you. I'm not sure where to begin..."

"Wait. I know you," Yosheta piped up. "You tried to help us find my father before, didn't you?"

"Indeed. Since you know who I am, let me tell you this. You and Luigi also battled me as Robrido in the Beanbean Kingdom."

Luigi was a little surprised. "Ah, so that was you?"

"It's true. I'm the one that helped you a few years ago and I'm also the one that fought you a few days ago."

"I remember that," Yosheta mused. "Why didn't you say anything when you got out of it?"

"I'm terribly sorry about that," Birdo sighed. "I felt so bad for what I did that I couldn't face anyone. Before I got a hold of myself so I could thank you, I was captured again and taken back here."

"Captured again?" Mario asked. "By who?"

"Wart, of course. You and Luigi may have banished him from this place nearly twenty years ago, but he's come back in recent times. He tried to enslave my kind again, but some of us got lucky and were able to escape from here and start new lives on Plit."

"That would explain all the Birdos that popped up lately, huh?"

"I happened to be one of them, but Wart managed to catch me. When he found out that I was acquainted with Luigi, he came up with a plan to use me as a tool to get revenge on him. That is the reason for Robirdo."

"Well, don't worry about that!" Luigi boasted. "I've come to settle this once and for all!"

"I'm afraid it's not that easy. Unless you brought some ammo here or something, it just isn't going to happen. His magic is much stronger than it was in the past and the perpetual darkness that he has cast over most of the land has made it so it is impossible for vegetables to grow."

"So it isn't supposed to be this dark?" Purpley shivered. "Spooky..."

"There's no turning back now. All you can do is press on and hope for the best." Birdo paused for a moment to ponder on the situation. "Listen, fellas. Up ahead in the next desert is the Grand Chasm. I've arranged an Albatoss ride for you there. They'll take you straight to Wart's castle."

"Oh. That's handy. Grazie."

"I wish you luck, Luigi. I really do. But I honestly don't think there is anything you can do."

"Nonsense, Birdo!" Luigi said bravely. "Good always prevails over evil. It may take awhile, but it always does."

Birdo smiled a little. "I have to hand it to you. You've gotten a lot more courageous over the years. If you honestly believe you can do it, I suppose I should give you a chance."

Oshi backed up Luigi's bold claim. "Don't worry about it. Luigi can do just about anything."

"Well, I'm not gonna get anything done by just standing around here. I mean, now that you've tied up all the loose ends..."

"Not so fast!" Mario pointed out. "There's still one thing I don't get. What about that voice you've been hearing in your dreams?"

"C'mon, Mario. I doubt Birdo would know anything about that."

"Actually, I do," Birdo admitted. "I apologize about that. While I've been trapped here in Subcon, I tried to warn you about the upcoming dangers through your dreams."

"Aww..." Luigi frowned. "If I had known that, maybe I wouldn't have been so frightened."

"I really am sorry. I didn't mean to cause you any harm."

"It's fine. You were only trying to get some help. And that's just why I came. Let's go, gang. We've got to stop Wart."

"Good luck, Luigi. And all of you, please be careful."

Luigi and friends said good-bye to Birdo, then walked through the woods in silence.

On the other side of forest was another desert. What Birdo said was completely true. In the middle of the desert was a wide chasm with some Albatoss, large red birds, waiting patiently for the party. The Albatoss allowed everyone to ride them and they flew over the canyon, up to the dark sky and right to Wart's castle which sat among the clouds.

Luigi wasted no time on getting started. He tugged on the handle of the huge wooden doors...only to find that they were securely locked.

"Oh, dang it," the hero muttered. "It won't open."

"I see," Mario said thoughtfully. "Anyone have any ideas?"

"What's this thing?" Pinky asked. Her attention was caught by something that was near the doors. It appeared to be an NES controller.

Amy was interested in what Pinky found. "That could be the key to get in. We probably just have to put in a certain button sequence. But what..?"

Mario began to press buttons. "I think I've got it. Start, then up, B and A."

"No, don't!" Amy shouted and shoved Mario away from the controller. "Something scary might happen!"

"Oh, sure," Mario said sarcastically. "Like pressing the wrong buttons will kill us or something. It's not like you know the code either."

Mario had a point. No one had any clue what the code was. Everyone quieted down and thought about it.

"I have an idea," Luigi stated and approached the buttons. "Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start."

A loud click was heard and the large heavy doors slowly swung open. Luigi cracked the code!

"Wow, Luigi. How did you know that would work?" Purpley asked.

"That little trick works for lots of stuff," Luigi chuckled, but then his smile faded. "I doubt video game knowledge is gonna help with this though..."

Everyone peered into the inky darkness inside the castle. It didn't look like there was anything in there at all. Luigi was feeling the pressure and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"How can I do this? Fire and ice were ineffective and lightning probably won't work any better."

"I bet this would be easy if you had a heart fruit," Oshi said, trying to cheer up Luigi.

"Fear not, guys," Mario assured everyone as he reached into his overalls pockets. "I brought along something that should tip the scales in our favor."

Luigi was a bit skeptical. "Oh really? What do you have?"

"Peppers." Mario showed Luigi the spicy things.

"Peppers?" everyone asked in surprise.

"Sure. I think we can stand a chance if we pump up our power with these babies."

Luigi still didn't understand what Mario was talking about. "Wait. We eat them?"

"Of course! How else do we use them?"

"Well, they _are_ veggies. I thought we were gonna use them as ammo."

"Interesting idea, but isn't that a bit rash? We would be in deep trouble if they end up powering him up."

Amy decided to share her thoughts. "I've heard about these things before. Red raise attack power and green raise defense power. Am I right?"

"Yeah. That's what they do," Mario confirmed.

"So how about you guys eat one color and use the other on Wart? That way if Wart does get a boost, the boost you have will cancel it out."

"You know, she might be on to something," Luigi said, impressed with Amy's logic.

Mario agreed. "Yeah. I guess that seems fair. Let's try that."

"Okay then. Mario and I will go inside and deal with this beast. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask the rest of you to stay put here."

"Huh? Why?" Oshi asked. "We came here to help."

Pinky was confused as well. "You don't even want us to help you fight this guy? Why did we come all this way then?"

"I appreciate the concern, but I just don't want any of you to get hurt. Just giving me your support is all the help I needed. Do you understand?"

"Don't worry, Luigi. I completely understand," Purpley smiled. "Now go get 'em."

After the yoshis and Amy wished them luck, Mario and Luigi entered Wart's castle. Although the halls were lined with torches, it was still difficult to see. The brothers tiptoed down the corridor and tried to find any signs of Wart.

"Mario," Luigi whispered. "As soon as you see Wart, eat the green peppers."

"Green ones, huh?" Mario said quietly. "I suppose defense is the way to go."

"That's what I think anyway."

"By the way," Mario continued as he pulled two blue peppers from his pocket. "I've brought a couple of these too. I just discovered them recently."

"Blue peppers? What kind of boost do those give?"

"A speed boost. That's what."

"Ah. That might come in handy."

While Mario and Luigi were discussing their battle tactics, a familiar laugh echoed down the hall. The pair spun around in surprise and the great Wart stood before them.

"Well, well, well," Wart chuckled. "Nice of you to come, Luigi. Tell me something. Exactly what do you plan on accomplishing here? You can't possibly intend to fight me again."

"I only had one reason and just one reason," Luigi said bravely. "And that was to save my friends. But I've got a new reason too."

"Yes. To free this land," Mario went on. "If this darkness is allowed to spread, everyone and everything in Subcon will d-"

"Silence!" Wart bellowed. "I should have dealt with you like I did with the others!"

Mario growled and gave Wart an intimidating look. He certainly wasn't too happy about what the fiend just said.

"I must admit, I commend your bravery. However, you are also a fool. Two mere humans have no chance against me. Have you forgotten that I had given the two of you a sound beati- Ugh!"

Wart's speech was cut off when Luigi tossed a red pepper into his mouth. While Wart was recovering from the shock, Mario and Luigi used this opportunity to gobble up all their green peppers along with the two blue ones.

"Blargh! What was that?!" Wart shrieked. "Where did you get that from?!"

The enraged tyrant skipped his speech and began to attack. Using their newfound speed boost, the brothers dashed around the halls and looked for chances to fling more peppers into the frog's maw. However, Wart knew exactly what they were trying to do and keep his mouth closed tightly.

"It's no use!" Luigi shouted to Mario. "He won't open up!"

"Onto plan B then!" Mario called back. "Eat the rest of the peppers!"

Mario and Luigi ate the rest of the red peppers, then tried to attack Wart physically. But even with the heightened strength, it didn't seem to do any good. The power boosts eventually faded away without any progress in the battle at all.

Wart showed no mercy. He unleashed a flare spell on Mario, then finished him off with a flurry of lightning bolts.

"Mario!" Luigi wailed when he saw his brother collapse.

"Well now, Luigi..." the antagonist taunted. "Do you have the guts to take me on without that brother of yours?"

"I will NOT let you get away with this!"

"So be it."

Wart summoned an ice storm upon Luigi. The hero somehow managed to endure the brutal attack, but it still took its toll. Luigi was hurt badly and could no longer remain on his feet.

"This is your last warning. Let me be and I may allow you to leave in one piece."

Despite the great pain he was in, Luigi refused to back down. "Ugh...never..." he grunted.

"I see. Well, so long," Wart said as he charged up his finishing blow...


	29. Celebration

Chapter XXIX: Celebration

It looks like it could be the end for our hero. Wart already defeated Mario and had his sights set on Luigi. He may have been able to survive Wart's icy blast, but he was in no condition to continue fighting. Wart was prepared to finish off Luigi when...

"Not so fast, you froggy fiend!" someone shouted.

"Who goes there?!" Wart roared. "Gack!"

The person that had just showed up tossed an eggplant into Wart's mouth. Luigi turned to see who came to save him and saw that there were actually two saviors. Neither of them were who Luigi expected to see, but they were both familiar. One was a human with blonde hair and wore a pink dress. The other was a Toad with red spots and wore a blue vest.

"Peach! Toad!" Luigi smiled.

"Oh ho!" Wart said when he saw them. "What do we have here? More challengers? I'll deal with you too!"

"Leave it to me, Peach!" Toad boasted. "You go revive Mario and Luigi!"

Peach and Toad's plan was put into action. Toad used his superior speed to distract the villain while Peach aided the brothers.

"How...what...?" Luigi asked when Peach approached him.

"There's no time to explain," Peach said as she worked up a healing spell. "Hold still while I cure you."

Once Luigi was restored to prime condition, he joined up with Toad. Peach revived Mario with another spell.

"Oh, Mario. Look what he did to you. Are you feeling better now?"

"Lower back please..." Mario mumbled.

"This is not fair!" Wart bellowed when he realized what was going on. "I had them right where I wanted them!"

"Grab some veggies, guys! He's hopping mad!" Toad handed both brothers a sack of vegetables.

Wart was able to wipe out Mario and Luigi with little trouble, but now the tables have been turned. Not only were they back to peak health and had two more recruits, but all of them were now armed with ammo to use on him. Things did not look promising for Wart.

Luigi was the first to attack. He smashed one of Wart's feet with his hammer, causing Wart to yelp in pain and hop around on his other foot. Mario knocked him onto his back with a tackle attack. This gave Peach the chance to cram some veggies into his mouth.

"Good heavens! Not garlic!" Wart protested. "That's the worst! Yargh!"

Wart flung Mario and Peach off him and stood up. Toad cleverly used his small size to his advantage and tripped the big brute. With Wart down again, everyone dove in and gave him everything they had.

After a short struggle, it was all over. Wart lay on the ground motionless. He had suffocated from the vegetables that had been wedged in his throat.

"I didn't expect you two to show up," Luigi panted. "But I'm sure glad you did."

Mario agreed. "My thoughts exactly."

"Sorry we're late," said Toad. "We had a little triple trouble with Tryclyde."

"Tryclyde?" Luigi thought to himself. "I was wondering where he was. I figured he would be here helping Wart..."

"Where did you find him at?" Mario asked Toad. "We never saw him on the way here."

"He was in the second desert. In the big canyon place."

"Grand Chasm!" Luigi exclaimed. "No wonder Birdo set up that Albatoss ride for us. She must've known that Tryclyde would ambush us there."

"Excuse me," Peach said politely. "But are we forgetting something? The girl and yoshis we met outside the castle said something about an egg..."

"Oh, right. I almost got myself killed while trying to get that thing. Better look around for it."

The castle, as well as the rest of Subcon, brightened up upon Wart's fall. This meant that getting around in the castle was easy now. After a brief search, the classic quartet found a treasure vault. In the middle of the room was a pedestal with the final yoshi egg, the black one, resting on it.

"There it is," Luigi said in disbelief. "At long last..."

"Well, Luigi. Grab it," Mario urged. "Go right ahead. It's yours."

Luigi hesitated for a moment, as if he expected a trap, then walked in and carefully removed the egg from the pedestal.

"What now?"

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light and Luigi was forced to close his eyes. When he was able to open them again, he found himself back in his house on Plit, safe and sound. Everyone that traveled through Subcon with him were beginning to awaken as well.

"Wow. Traveling back and forth from the dream world is weird business," Luigi chuckled, then looked at the egg in his arms. "But it looks like Blacky made it back here just fine."

"Welcome back, Luigi," said Waluigi. "Looks like the mission was a success."

"You got that right. But I wouldn't have pulled it off without some unexpected help."

"Actually, what Waluigi means is that _our_ mission was accomplished," Wario corrected.

"Your mission? What are you talking about? You guys didn't even come with us."

Waluigi winked slyly. "That's the thing. Mario said that we probably couldn't come, so we never even tried. He did mention two people that could go though."

Luigi thought about it for a second. "Peach and Toad?"

"Yup. We went to the castle and let them know what was going on. How else would they know, hmm?"

"But wait! There's more!" Wario laughed. "Wart is weak to veggies, right? Well, people seem to hate garlic and eggplant for some funky reason. I figured that would work really well on him. So we gave Peach and Toad a bunch of the stuff before we sent them on their way. Ha haaa!"

Luigi was dumbfounded. It was hard for him to believe it, but Wario and Waluigi just did something very helpful and without anyone even telling them to.

"Warios rule and Marios drool!" Mario shouted out of nowhere.

"What the-? Mario!"

"Luigi, I always give credit where it is due. After coming up with such a great plan, I think the least we can do is give them some praise."

"Good point. If it wasn't for that, we would've been toast. Grazie, Wario and Waluigi."

"Yeah..." Wario said, feeling a little embarrassed. "Too bad I ended up working for free. Oh well..."

"Wow. That's great," Purpley said happily, but then her smiled faded. "But what about Blacky and the others?"

"They're still eggs, aren't they?" Oshi added.

Luigi was puzzled. "Oh yeah. I guess they are. I thought they would turn back to normal after we wiped out Wart."

"You might have to sit on them and hatch them," Yosheta suggested. "You know. Like you did with me."

"Maybe. But these aren't normal eggs. They were created with magic. The traditional method probably won't work."

"We're not going to figure out anything if we just stay here and talk," said Pinky. "Let's take all the eggs back home and then try to solve this problem."

Luigi and the others completely agreed with Pinky's idea. Everyone left Mario and Luigi's house and went to the S.S. Garlic to get the rest of the eggs. With all seven yoshi eggs in hand, they returned to the house and took the hidden warp pipe to Yoshi's Island.

The island was as beautiful as always. The early morning sun bathed the environment with a lovely orange light. Everyone carefully set the eggs down, then relaxed in the shade of Purpley's home.

"Ah..." Purpley sighed with relief. "It's so good to be home again."

"It is," Pinky nodded. "But now we need to help our friends."

"Let's see now," Luigi mused. "What to do...?"

Luckily, releasing all the yoshis turned out to be a very easy matter. Once Wart was defeated and the eggs were returned to their rightful place, the curse was broken. The eggs glowed and filled everyone's eyes with seven different colors. After the light faded away, there were now yoshis where the eggs once were. They all appeared to be in a daze.

"Wow..." said Bluey. "I just had a really nice dream. I was at the bottom of the ocean."

"I had a dream too," Yellowy, Bluey's son, replied. ""But I was on a big beach with no water around. It was real hot too."

"There was some water in my dream," Redy chimed in. "But then I went to a place with lots of fighting."

"I went to lots of neat places in my dream," said Redy's brother, Orangey. "I liked it."

"I dreamt I was in a really hot place too, Yellowy," Whitey added. She spoke in yoshi though because she never got the hang of English.

"I was in a cold and dark place in my dream," Whitey's mate and former leader of the herd Blacky shuddered. "I don't mind dark caves or anything, but that was too dark, Even for me."

"In my dream, I was in a place with lots of yoshis," said Mini Bluey, Yosheta's father. "I guess I felt right at home."

"That's interesting..." Luigi thought. "The yoshis were aware of where they were while they were eggs."

"Daddy!" Yosheta cried and hugged Mini Bluey. "I missed you so much!"

Mini Bluey was confused. "Why's that? You're acting like you haven't seen me for a few days."

"That's the thing, dear," Pinky explained. "We haven't seen you for awhile. Or the others for that matter."

"Has anyone seen the fat frog?" Blacky asked as he gazed around. "He wanted me to bring him some fish."

"You won't be seeing him ever again," Luigi said sternly.

"Oh. Hey, Luigi. I didn't know you were here. But where's the frog?"

"It's a long story. Very long indeed..."

"Ooh, a story?" Orangey replied. "You gotta tell us sometime."

"By the way, who's that?" Redy asked when he noticed Amy. "Did you find a new friend?"

Amy giggled shyly and twirled the end of her ponytail with a finger. She's opened up since she came to the surface and she got along with Purpley great now, but she's still a bit on the timid side.

"Heheh. Glad you asked," Luigi smiled. "That's Chicky. If anything, she's the one that found me. Good thing too, because I would've been long gone if she didn't."

"Really? Well, glad to meet you, Chicky."

Bluey stretched and yawned. "It sure is a nice day, guys. Anyone wanna go swimming?"

"I've got a better idea," Mario proposed. "Let's have a party!"

That afternoon, a small party was held on Mario's front yard. Some tables were set up and stocked with fresh fruit, pizza and even some tacos that Amy whipped up. There was a bowl of punch as well. Amy took a moment to put on the purple shirt and blue jeans that she was wearing when she and Luigi first met. Luigi wore his tuxedo again for the occasion too. Mario ducked out for awhile and went to the castle so he could invite Peach and Toad to the party.

While everyone enjoyed the food and chatted with each other, Luigi stood up and tapped on the side of his glass to get everyone's attention.

"Settle down, everyone. I've got a speech to make." Luigi cleared his throat and began. "Okay. I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone that helped me during this long and tiring adventure. Now then. First, graz- Excuse me. Thank you, Wario. The journey simply wouldn't be possible without him lending me his ship and navigating for me. Also, a big thank you to Waluigi. His bright ideas and technical know-how saved the day quite a few times. And of course, thank you to Mario too. He can be really annoying sometimes, but let's face it. His experience is just plain useful. Stand up and take a bow, guys."

The yoshis applauded as Mario, Wario and Waluigi bowed. Wario and Waluigi weren't exactly used to doing a formal gesture like this, but they seemed to like the attention they were getting.

"Let me give a very special thank you to my new friend, Chicky. Things would've came to a nasty end if it wasn't for her." Luigi grinned. "Not to mention she can be an affectionate little bugger. Heheheh. Also, thank you Purpley, Pinky, Oshi and Yosheta for being really good sports during all of this. Especially Yosheta in particular. The poor girl got caught once, but she bounced right back. And let's not forget Peach and Toad either. That was a really close one, but thanks, guys."

"Aw, it was the least we can do," said Peach.

"Don't mention it," Toad giggled. "I'm surprised to see that guy come back after all this time."

"Lastly," Luigi concluded. "There's also the matter of some of the people I met along the way that helped me, such as D.K. and Nicky. I'll have to get a hold of them sometime. Alright then. That'll be all. Go ahead and relax and enjoy the food."

With Luigi's speech finished, everyone went back to eating and chatting.

"That was well put," Amy said to Luigi.

"Well, I had to thank everyone that helped me. That reminds me..." Luigi looked in his pockets for something. "I know that you wanted a souvenir and I think I've got just the thing. Here you go."

Luigi took out a badge and gave it to Amy. The badge was a green hexagon with a white L on it.

"Whoa! This is the L Emblem, isn't it?" the princess said as she accepted the item. "Looks like I can cosplay as you now."

"I was sure it would tickle your fancy. Just don't go around using it to pose as me and get free stuff like Mario."

"Don't worry. I don't even look anything like you. Besides, it's not like I can go anywhere since- Oh my gosh! How long have I been away from home?! Mother is probably worried sick by now!"

"Look. Let's just chill for the rest of the day. Wario and I will make sure to get you back home tomorrow."

The next morning, Luigi and Amy asked Wario for one more favor and he took them out to sea on the S.S. Garlic. Once they were near Kong Island, Luigi and Amy got aboard the Green Marine and dove down to Aquapolis.

The Cheep Cheeps patrolling the city were pleased when their princess returned.

"Welcome home, your highness," said Randy. "How was your trip?'

"It was fun," Amy replied. "I had a great time. How are things here?"

"Not so good, unfortunately," Gerald frowned. "Your mother made a bit of a costly mistake."

"Costly mistake?"  
"Well, your mother isn't as good with computers as you are. While trying to keep track of orders, she got some mixed up. The city may be in debt."

"Oh, geez. I better straighten this out."

After hearing the bad news, Luigi and Amy hurried to the castle and went into her bedroom.

"I guess this is good-bye, huh?" Amy asked sadly.

"I'm afraid so," Luigi answered.

"My life is gonna seem so boring now. Even more than it was before."

"Don't talk that way, Chicky. I'll see if I can drop by every so often. I mean, I do have my own personal submarine, you know. Look, do you have a scrap piece of paper handy?"

"I think I've got a pad of sticky notes around here." Amy opened one of the drawers of her computer desk and found it. "Yes. Here it is."

Amy gave Luigi the sticky notes and a pencil. Luigi wrote down his e-mail address and stuck the note on Amy's computer monitor.

"There. We can keep in touch now. I've got to get going. You try to sort out the financial problem, then send some mail my way sometime. Okay?"

"Okay..." the girl whimpered. "Good-bye, famous warrior Luigi..."

"See you later, Princess Chicky."

Luigi started to walk toward the door, but then stopped. He decided to do one last thing before leaving Amy in her lonely home. He went back and hugged her for a few minutes. He would've stayed longer if Amy didn't convince him that he needed to go.

After he returned the princess to where she belonged, Luigi took his time when leaving Aquapolis. He thought the idea of an underwater city was fascinating, even if there wasn't much to do there. He hoped that he would come back here one day. When he got to the gate, he sighed and climbed into the Green Marine, then he returned to the surface.

"You know..." Wario said when Luigi was back aboard the S.S. Garlic. "You and Chicky are kinda cute together. You should think about sticking Daisy in the insane asylum."

Luigi didn't even notice that Wario was being a bit out of character. "I suppose. Shame that she has be down there all alone. But...she is needed there. Since you mentioned Daisy, don't you think you should give _The World of Plit_ back to her?"

"I'll be honest with you, bud. I took it so I can look for treasure. Then Mario came along and thought I wanted it to help you look for eggs. Look, I'll return it if you don't tell her what I said about putting her in the asylum. Deal?"

"Deal," Luigi chuckled. "Besides, I was considering that myself. Crazy lady..."

When the S.S. Garlic arrived at Town Toad, Luigi thanked Wario for the help and went to his humble home. Mario was outside working on the spring cleaning; the project the brothers were doing before all the trouble started.

"Why so glum?" Mario asked when he saw Luigi.

Luigi shrugged. "I'm just a little lonely I guess."

"Cheer up. It's springtime, the weather is nice and the yoshis aren't eggs anymore. But if it's about Chicky, I'm sure you can still keep in touch with her. Right?"

"True. I gave her my e-mail address. We can at least chat on the internet."

"See? You have nothing to worry about. Now can you help me with this? I promised Peach that I would take her for a walk when I was done here."

Luigi was about to help Mario with the cleaning when his phone started ringing.

"Oh, hang on." Luigi took his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. "Hello?"

"I've done it, Luigi!" Professor E. Gadd said on the other end. "I've finally finished building my time machine! I'm showing it off at the princess' castle tonight! Please come!"

Luigi's grand adventure across Plit may have ended, but what does the future have in store for the hero in green? We'll just have to wait and see...


End file.
